Alcohol exports from the UK to the EU were in free fall for the first couple of months of this year, hit by the perfect storm of Brexit at the beginning of the year alongside Covid lockdowns across Europe continuing to shatter the on-trade, newly released data has revealed.
Read more...
Kingsland Drinks Group has appointed Denis O’Flynn, previously MD at Pernod Ricard UK and chairman of the WSTA, as a non-executive director of its board.
Read more...
The government has launched its second consultation into a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Read more...
The government has delayed the VI-1 wine certification for wine imported to the UK from the EU by six months.
Read more...
Duty on wines, spirits and beers is to be frozen, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in today’s Budget.
Read more...
An infuriated wine trade has today delivered an ‘unprecedented’ collective letter to Victoria Prentis MP, calling for the scrapping of VI-1 forms when the easement provision ends on 1 July.
Read more...
Will the chancellor address the continuing controversy over punishing duty rates in the wine and spirits sectors in the 3 March Budget? Lisa Riley reports.
Read more...
Total volume sales of no/low alcohol beer, wine, spirits, and ready-to-drink (RTD) products are set to increase 31% by 2024, according to a No-and Low-Alcohol Strategic Study 2021 from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.
Read more...
The Covid-19 pandemic has failed to halt the UK’s distillery boom with new figures showing a record number of distilleries were registered in 2020.
Read more...
The actualities of shipping goods from the EU are beginning to sink in as wine incurs an estimated €200 per shipment, making groupage cost-prohibitive for many. Jo Gilbert calculates the knock-on costs to the trade
Read more...
The WSTA has renewed its calls on the Chancellor to cut alcohol duty to allow UK businesses to “thrive and compete on a global stage”.
Read more...
A treasury minister has said there are “no current plans” to further extend the reduction in VAT for hospitality businesses despite estimates that rising rates could directly and permanently impact the sector and lead to the loss of up to 310,000 jobs.
Read more...
Many of the UK’s best known wine and spirit SMEs have written a joint letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak urging him to cut duty while extended the hospitality’s VAT cut to provide further relief for those struggling with the pandemic.
Read more...
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has produced new guidance around the labelling of low & no alcohol drinks as a record number of Brits explore the category.
Read more...
The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) has welcomed the UK government’s decisions to re-join the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) as a member, but also said that OIV membership was “only half the picture”.
Read more...
From the first indications that a novel coronavirus brewing in the east had reared its ugly head in the west, 2020 fast played out as the year when Covid-19 turned the trade upside down. On-trade restrictions and closures, pivoting of businesses, innovation in every shape and form, plus the super-charging of ecommerce and an amazing collective response by individuals, companies and trade bodies alike all became the ‘new norm’. As a year most of us wish to see the back of stumbles to a close, the Harpers team rounds up some of the most significant events of 2020.
Read more...
A record number of wine and spirit businesses have joined the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) this year following a recruitment drive bolstered by concerns over Covid and Brexit.
Read more...
With the end of the Brexit transition now hurtling down the track, many indies may not be aware of quite how much post-1 January changes could affect their businesses, as Andrew Catchpole reports.
Read more...
The WSTA is sticking to its ‘hope for the best, prepare for the worst’ approach to Brexit as we hurtle towards the 1 January deadline with no deal in sight. Jo Gilbert speaks to chief executive Miles Beale about what we can expect at the eleventh hour.
Read more...
There is mounting concern over the lack of clarity around the introduction of VI-1 forms for bulk shippers, despite the end of the transition period being just weeks away.
Read more...
