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Hallgarten takes stock of growth having added 50% to turnover

Published:  28 January, 2025

Few followers of Harpers newsfeed could have missed the massive drive by Hallgarten & Novum Wines to bring aboard new agencies and staff in the wake of its acquisition by Coterie Holdings in December 2023. In the past 12 months alone, some 30 producers, along with 300 wines, have been added to the portfolio, backed by 30 new faces that have joined the team. And the upshot is a strengthened import and distribution business that is a serious force to be reckoned with, anchored by the investment and stability that Coterie has been able to provide.

Speaking to Harpers at the annual Hallgarten tasting at London’s Old Billingsgate, MD Andrew Bewes (pictured) and head buyer Steve Daniel intimated that the acquisitions would now likely slow, with some consolidation in order.

Andrew Bewes revealed that Hallgarten has “added 50% to its turnover”, with new on-trade accounts, such as The Ivy Collection, plus recent additions such as Bruce Jack Wines, which sit in the multiples (to name just a couple among many), having helped boost this figure.

Bewes explained the jump in more detail: “For the 12 months to March last year we finished at £62 million, and we look set to finish this year at £75 million, but the underlying rate is £90 million, because of the new customers that have come on, and we have the stock and people to manage that.

“So, it took me 15 years to get from £30 million to £60 million, and it’s taken another year to get from £60 million to £90 million – we have geared up in terms of people and in terms of portfolio to now take that through to the next rung on the ladder and that will mean growth in all sectors,” he added.

Facing down the challenges of a declining market for wine, Hallgarten is set on continuing to win new accounts, with emphasis on the hospitality sector, but also with premium sales across all channels.

Bewes described the ongoing acquisition of hotels, restaurants and pubs as “fairly normal growth”, but with “the quantum leap” coming from the likes of the recently added Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte, “delivering millions”, plus labels such as the aforementioned Bruce Jack Wines similarly boosting turnover.

“We are also having a big focus in on the independents, as we are at the top end of the on-trade, and there is a reason why those go hand-in-hand, because whether a sommelier or an independent merchant, they are there at the point of sale,” said Bewes.

“They talk about wine, eat, breathe and sleep wine, and for a lot of our portfolio that is fundamental – the entry level wines will sell themselves, but these are the platforms that we are really focusing in on now, so we will need to continue to open significant new accounts.”

With regard to the end of duty easement and inevitable price rises, plus Extended Producer Responsibility packaging costs coming down the line, Bewes talks up the opportunities for Hallgarten’s expanded portfolio in the on-trade.

His view is that with the likes of Bordeaux and Burgundy spiralling ever upwards in price, and with popular styles such as Malbec likely to be forced up by £3-£4 due to duty rises, that there will be more demand for a wider range of styles and origins to ensure affordable value on a given wine list. And those lists are also likely to contract.

“There’s a really big opportunity in the next few weeks, every wine list is going to change in some way, shape or form, but with prices all upwards,” he said.

“If we’ve 25 red wines on a restaurant wine list that you could sell between £35 and £40, we will still have 20 wines, but at least 10 of those will be different. When the consumer comes in, will they be blindly following the wine that they were buying at £38 that is now £42, or will they be working on a rough budget, so go for something different at £38? – that is where the challenge and opportunity lies.” 

Agreeing, Daniel added: “With the pressure on restaurants to reduce the size of their wine lists, if they have 80 wines, they will have to have points of difference – how many Chardonnays and Sauvignons and Cabernets can they sell?

“So, it’s about pushing that experimentation by the somm, to say ‘well, actually, I can put a really nice Grenache from Spain or Roussillon in here instead of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, or a Greek wine, something else’ – consumers are not stupid or as conservative as most people think they are, so that opens up quite a lot of opportunities.”

Among the many good wines at Hallgarten’s tasting, spanning the globe from Germany to Greece and Georgia, by way of South Africa, Lebanon and the UK, to Spain, Italy and the USA, one unifying tasting takeaway was that of optimism and ambition – and that despite the mounting challenges facing the trade. This is a wine business that is clearly on a roll, and Bewes and Daniel are determined not to let such obstacles stand in their way. 



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