HENKELL FREIXENET ACQUIRES ENGLISH WINERY, BOLNEY WINE ESTATE

HENKELL FREIXENET ACQUIRES ENGLISH WINERY, BOLNEY WINE ESTATE

Henkell Freixenet strengthens its position as the leading sparkling wine supplier in England with the acquisition of the renowned English sparkling wine and wine cellar Bolney. The transaction took place on 14 January. The contractual partners have agreed to maintain confidentiality about the terms of the transaction.

Wiesbaden, 14 January 2022: Henkell Freixenet is entering the high-quality English Sparkling Wine business with the renowned Bolney Wine Estate. „This emerging category is regarded by some experts as "comparable to Champagne*” and in the last few years English Sparkling Wine has been experiencing exponential growth.“ (Value growth +56% IRI MAT to 28/11/21)

This emerging category is regarded by some experts as "the new Champagne” and in the last few years English Sparkling Wine has been experiencing exponential growth.

Bolney Wine Estate is considered one of the pioneers among the estates in England. The winery, located near Brighton, was founded in 1972 by Janet and Rodney Pratt and is now run by their daughter Samantha Linter. Bolney has a portfolio of first-class sparkling and still wines that have won several awards. Most recently, it won the prestigious UK Glass of Bubbly sustainability award.

"As producers of Champagne, Crémant, Cava, Prosecco and sparkling wines of various origins, we are delighted to add English Sparkling Wine, a still young, prestigious sparkling wine speciality to our "Pearls of Europe". We are convinced that as the global market leader in the sparkling wine market, we can further strengthen the image of English Sparkling nationally and internationally," says Dr Andreas Brokemper, CEO of Henkell Freixenet.

Freixenet Copestick is the UK and Ireland arm of Henkell Freixenet. Robin Copestick, managing director of Freixenet Copestick, commented: "When we first saw Bolney Wine Estate, we were sure we had found the perfect winery. The sparkling wines are excellent and the business is excellently run by Samantha Linter. She will work closely with the Henkell Freixenet and Freixenet Copestick teams as managing director. Together we aim to realise the opportunities presented by English Sparkling Wine and continue to grow Bolney Wine Estate's position."

Sam Linter added: "This is a new chapter for Bolney Wine Estate. Over the past 50 years my family and I have worked hard to bring Bolney to where it is today. I am now very much looking forward to working with Freixenet Copestick and helping to develop Bolney within the group nationally and internationally."

*Louise Dixon and the associated press, Dec. 28, 2021