The new digital service from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) ‘Manage your Alcohol Duty’, which went live on 1 March, is purported to allow for easier reporting and online payment services regarding alcohol duty.
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The UK’s leading drinks trade associations have written to the government highlighting deep concerns over the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (EPR) scheme, while calling for a meeting with Defra.
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Data from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) can reveal that 63% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) saw taxation as their primary business challenge. The data, which was gathered following the Autumn Budget, represents an increase compared to Q3 of 2024 when 48% of business owners saw it as their primary challenge.
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Matt Davies, former Enotria&Coe and Sipsmith director, has been appointed general manager of Majestic Commerical, the B2B arm of Majestic.
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Data from Liv-ex, the fine wine trading platform, reveals that with the expectation of their Italy 100 index, all of the platform’s major indices have seen price falls compared to December.
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Thanks to “Trump 2.0, tariffs are coming. It’s not a matter of if, but when”, WSTA chief executive Miles Beale said at last week’s standout Wine Paris conference, where leading industry figures gathered to discuss how to manage and offset mounting geopolitical tensions and trade wars on the global wine trade.
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Wine Paris has confirmed what the busy aisles suggested, namely that this year’s event (10-12 February) had record-breaking attendance of global drinks trade, propelling it to current pole position in the battle of the big wine and spirits shows.
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French drinks giant, Pernod Ricard, has reported a fall in sales globally of -4% for the first half of the 2025 financial year. Falls in sales were seen across all major markets.
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The Japanese drinks giant, Suntory Global Spirits, has officially launched its first standalone commercial business in the UK. The move means the company is now directly in charge of the sales, marketing and distribution of its portfolio of spirits brands in the UK.
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Amid much gloom in the market generally and set against the current duty rises, The Wine Society has reported a record trading period over the festive weeks.
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Hallgarten & Novum Wine has entered a partnership with luxury wine and Champagne brand, Porte Noire, which will see increased distribution of the brand’s wines across Hallgarten’s on and off-trade channels.
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Hallgarten & Novum Wines has announced the appointment of Will Oatley to the role of commercial director.
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Not only will the forthcoming end of ‘duty easement’ present a huge additional burden on UK wine businesses, but the current claim form for clawing back overpaid excise duty against stated abv is not yet ready, with the excise duty invoice system also not fit for the new regime in one week’s time.
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New figures from CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker shows year-on-year growth of 3.2% for December 2024, reflecting a month of boosted sales for hospitality.
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The changes to employer national insurance contributions (NICs) will see more than 774,000 workers newly eligible for the contributions. This figure represents almost 63% of workers who were previously ineligible. UKHospitality predicts this could cost the hospitality sector up to £1bn.
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A shifting picture of diversification amid a challenging global landscape emerged from an interesting discussion in London yesterday (26 November), where Rodolphe Lameyse, CEO of Wine Paris owner Vinexposium, and Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA, gathered members of the press to discuss the potential ways of returning businesses in the UK and elsewhere to much-needed growth.
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Wales will press ahead with its own Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) as the devolved government announced its intention to back out of a UK-wide framework which is looking to exclude glass.
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The government hospitality wine cellar’s latest biennial report, covering April 2022 to March 2024, outlines a restrained increase in bottle usage and a significant boost in revenue from sales.
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The Autumn Budget’s employment tax measures will raise the cost of employing full-time staff by at least £2,500, according to an analysis released by UKHospitality.
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The hospitality sector is facing a substantial increase in operating costs as the Chancellor confirms a 6.7% rise in the National Living Wage, set to take effect in April 2025. The uplift will raise the hourly rate from £11.44 to £12.21, directly impacting more than 3 million workers and adding an estimated £1.9bn to the hospitality sector’s wage bill.
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