Virgin Wines revenue down by £10m

By James Bayley

Published: 25 October, 2023

Virgin Wines, one of the UK’s largest direct-to-consumer online wine retailers, has today (25 October) revealed its audited Annual Results for the period ended 30 June 2023 (FY23), are ‘in line with expectations’.

This is despite group revenue falling from £10m on the previous year to £59m, with adjusted pre-tax profit coming in at £0.6m versus £5.2m a year earlier. Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA declined to £1.8m from a previous £6.2m.

As for the current trading outlook, Virgin has registered a 12% year-on-year sales increase in the first quarter of its FY24 trading period. The company, which boasts almost 700 wines and about 150 spirits in its portfolio, will introduce new initiatives in H2, including a new value proposition in late October, a premium Australian Wine Club and a brand refresh.

Read more: Co-op overhauls wine offer with new in-store layout and lines

Jay Wright, chief executive of Virgin Wines, said: “FY23 has been a year affected by a number of challenges, from well-documented macroeconomic headwinds to a number of one-off, exceptional issues, most specifically relating to the implementation of our new warehouse management system in H1.

“Despite this, we have continued to grow our WineBank membership, maintain excellent discipline in our customer acquisition channel and deliver a healthy balance sheet, remaining debt-free with £5.5 million cash reserves and much-reduced levels of stock.”

The company expects to achieve double-digit sales growth in the full year, with an EBITDA margin of 5% as inflationary pressures on freight and glass start to ease.

Wright (pictured) added: “We remain confident in our longer-term prospects given the strength of the customer proposition and our proven business model. Our continued focus on profit, generating cash and driving efficiencies also positions us uniquely within the sector. These pillars will remain consistent elements of our strategy moving forward.”

Virgin Wines – headquartered in Norwich – was established in 2000 by the Virgin Group and subsequently acquired by Direct Wines in 2005 before being bought out by the Virgin Wines management team, led by Jay Wright and chief financial officer Graeme Weir, in 2013.

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