Business & Finance - Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News

Budget: Chancellor freezes all alcohol duty

Published: 03 March, 2021

Duty on wines, spirits and beers is to be frozen, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in today’s Budget.

Trade calls Victoria Prentis out over VI-1 statement

Published: 25 February, 2021

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.

Hospitality leaders show long-term optimism

Published: 25 February, 2021

Hospitality leaders are optimistic about the long-term future of the sector and its role in the UK’s economic recovery, with many businesses seeking to grow rather than shrink, the latest CGA Business Leaders' Survey has revealed.

Virgin Wines announces stock market flotation

Published: 16 February, 2021

Virgin Wines has announced plans for a stock market flotation.

Extension to rent moratorium considered as momentum for UK re-opening builds

Published: 15 February, 2021

Ministers are reportedly drawing up plans to extend the rent moratorium for commercial properties until past the March end date, further curbing landlords’ ability to evict businesses over unpaid rent.

A duty to industry

Published: 15 February, 2021

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.

Chapel Down to place Curious Drinks into administration

Published: 09 February, 2021

Chapel Down is to dispose of its Curious Drinks business to a NewCo, established by private equity firm Risk Capital Partners (RCP).

Minister dashes hopes of VAT cut extension

Published: 27 January, 2021

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.

WSTA and SMEs call on Chancellor for further support in budget

Published: 21 January, 2021

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.

IWSR acquires Wine Intelligence

Published: 18 January, 2021

IWSR Drinks Market Analysis has acquired Wine Intelligence for an undisclosed sum.

Hospitality and foodservice revenues forecasted to drop £30bn in 2021

Published: 13 January, 2021

Revenues across the hospitality and foodservice industry have been forecasted to take a £30bn hit this year, with Covid restrictions likely to play out well into 2021.

Parliamentary hospitality debate shows cross-party sector support

Published: 12 January, 2021

The debate on whether to create a minister for hospitality in the UK government showed cross-party support for the struggling sector, with an overwhelmingly positive response from all corners.

Jerry Lockspeiser: Britain 2021 – Fear or opportunity?

Published: 17 December, 2020

As we come to the end of this extraordinary year and look towards the future, are we filled with feelings of fear or opportunity, or a strange mix of both?

One-size-fits-all approach will harm UK recovery

Published: 10 December, 2020

The UK must adopt a regionally tailored recovery strategy if it is to recover fully from the impact of the global pandemic, which has exacerbated London-centric trends.

Crucial final weeks will seal Brexit fate

Published: 03 December, 2020

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.

At least 50k sites to be shut or unviable under new tiers

Published: 30 November, 2020

More than 50,000 of England’s licensed premises will be unable to trade under the government’s tough new tiered restrictions coming into place this week, according to research for the latest edition of the Market Recovery Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners.

BBR return to form with highest operating profits since 2010

Published: 26 November, 2020

Berry Bros. & Rudd (BBR) has posted strong results, showing the family-owned business in growth for FY20 and “solid” half-year results for FY21.

Liv-ex prepares for skyrocketing cost of Brexit transition

Published: 25 November, 2020

Liv-ex is predicting that the number of ‘steps’ involved in transferring wine between the UK and the EU will more than double post-January, with associated costs forecasted to rise exponentially.

Calls for government to set out budgetary plans and provide businesses with certainty

Published: 24 November, 2020

The lack of certainty on key budgetary announcements is creating untenable instability for businesses, leading tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg has said, adding calls for the government to announce full budgetary plans sooner rather than later.

Supply chains a priority post-Covid, research finds

Published: 24 November, 2020

Reconfiguring supply chains will be a key objective for businesses as they emerge from the Covid-19 crisis, a new study from the Capgemini Research Institute has revealed.