Subscriber login Close [x]
remember me
You are not logged in.

DMD aims to take the next step with £500K crowdfunding bid

Published:  04 November, 2019

DMD Ventures, the parent company behind online alcohol retailer 31Dover and on-trade supplier Vanquish, is about to embark on a financial bid to the tune of half a million pounds.

The crowdfunding campaign is due to launch in mid-to-late November via Crowdcube – an online platform which enables businesses to raise equity through the general public and interested partners while bypassing banks.

DMD already has a strong audience in the B2C channel via 31Dover, which focuses on of-the-moment spirits like gin and whisky, with over 1,200 products available for next day delivery.

More recently, it also has its online subscriptions services The Gin Club and Off the Still, as well as OnStock, a new automated on-line ordering system aimed at the UK on-trade.

Harpers recently covered the launch and the company’s continuing focus on digitalisation in our October issue.

OnStock aims to bring online efficiencies to the UK on-trade by combining the boutique product focus of Vanquish – DMD Ventures’ London-based supplier to the premium on-trade – with the nationwide reach of ecommerce platform 31Dover.

While taking aim at the slow pace of digital adoption in the hospitality industry, chief executive James Bagley, told Harpers: “We were getting reports that there isn’t equal service across the UK. A gastropub in Gloucestershire would see what we’re doing in London with somewhere like [celebrity hang-out] The Box and want access to the same range and services. And yet when they get in contact with their wholesaler, they’re told they can’t do it, or that they only deliver to that area once a week.”

The company is also focusing on establishing its prominence in the online BWS space. 

The UK is leading the way online compared to other countries.

UK online alcohol sales are still significantly under-represented compared to the wider grocery channel however, with 5% market share of total alcohol sales compared to the 45% for traditional grocery.

DMD company is currently working with an evaluation of between £40m and £45m and is forecasting revenues of £11m in FY20 and £30m in FY22.

Group revenue for FY19 was £9m.





Keywords: