Hambledon looks to raise £3m through 'English fizz' crowdfunding

By Arabella Mileham

Published: 24 March, 2015

Hambledon Vineyard has launched a £3m crowdfunding exercise to expand the business on the back of strong demand for English sparkling wine.

The Hampshire vineyard is launching 'The English Fizz Mini Bond', a secured and convertible bond for small investors through CrowdBnk.

The proceeds will be used by the vineyard to expand its production as well as build up stocks to enable it to achieve its sales target to 200,000 bottles within five years.

Owner Ian Kellett said crowdfunding allowed the company to share its development. "Crowdfunding our mini bond is important to us so that we might share our journey with as many people as we can - the minimum investment is £1,600. We wanted to work with a partner who understood our ambition and CrowdBnk, with its strong mix of investor types, was the perfect fit," he said.

Ayan Mitra, CEO of CrowdBnk, said it was delighted to be hosting crowdfunding for strong brand. "The English Fizz Mini Bond is our first mini bond. The fact that the Mini Bond is both secured and convertible underlines our continued ability to deliver offerings that we believe our investors want," she said.

Three stages of the bonds are being offered depending on the level of investment. It includes two Hambledon Classic Cuvée only Mini Bonds - Fizz 1600, Fizz 3200 - which give investors a number of bottles of Classic Cuvée every year during the investment term. The main 8% Cash Plus Wine Rewards mini-bond, which has a minimum investment of £10,000, is offering wine rewards on top of a potential cash return of 8% per annum, rolled into a 40% interest payment after five years. Investors will have the option to convert the bond to share when it matures.

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