Distell sells Uitkyk to Warwick Wine Estate

By Lisa Riley

Published: 08 May, 2018

Distell has sold its Uitkyk wine farm to Warwick Wine Estate for an undisclosed sum.

The sale formed part of Distell’s strategy to streamline its asset portfolio in a way that would allow it to re-invest further into its business and achieve its growth aspirations, said MD Richard Rushton.

In addition, the sale was consistent with Distell’s strategy to focus and increase its investment on a select portfolio of wine brands and assets, he added.

“Our key focus brands, like Nederburg, Alto, Fleur du Cap, Plaisir de Merle and Durbanville Hills, have shown strong performance for the financial year-to-date and this reinforces the benefits of our more focused approach,” said Rushton.

Wine would remain integral and pivotal to Distell’s long-term success, he added, with the sale of Uitkyk presenting the company with an opportunity to “build this category with even greater scale”.

“Distell will also remain fully committed to growing the South African wine industry and playing a key role in the wine category,” he said.

The announcement follows Distell last week reporting ‘promising quality’ harvest despite experiencing one of the most challenging seasons in recent years.

The company, which accounts for nearly a third of total wine production in South Africa, said the harvest had delivered “healthy, good quality grapes”, but that the crop was down about 30% on last year’s intake although yields had differed across regions.

In February, Distell reported a 9.3% increase in revenues to R13.4 billion (£828 million) on volumes up 3.7% in the six months to 31 December 2018.

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