Sussex, UK (04 March 2021) – Highweald Beverages, the private equity-backed British drinks company operating within the English wine and craft beer markets, has announced its acquisition of Sussex-based Pookchurch Vineyard, positioning the business in the top 10% of land-under-vine owners in the UK.
Purchased for a 7-figure sum, Pookchurch, a 100-acre commercial vineyard that has been producing English wine since 2018, is Highweald Beverages’ fourth acquisition since early 2020 and the second made through its subsidiary brand, Highweald Wine. The award-winning Lakestreet vineyard was the first to join the Highweald Wine portfolio in January of last year, with the addition of Pookchurch Vineyard bringing the company’s total land-under-vine ownership to 124 acres.
The acquisition of Pookchurch adds 800% to production across the Highweald Beverages wine portfolio, increasing potential total yield for 2021 to 225 tonnes of grape as demand for UK wine continues to grow.
Highweald Beverages is supported through investment from the Cadman Capital Group, the boutique specialist private equity investor.
Commenting on the acquisition, Stephen Bayliss, Investment Director at Cadman Capital Group, said: “The purchase of Pookchurch Vineyard not only adds great value to the Highweald Beverages portfolio but evidences our drive and ambition to become one of the major operators within the English wine industry. Joining the top 10% of land-under-vine owners in the UK is an incredible achievement and shows the hard work and dedication that has gone into the Highweald Beverages project since its inception in 2020.”
General Manager of Highweald Beverages, Robin Langton, said: “We’re extremely excited to welcome Pookchurch Vineyard to the Highweald Wine portfolio and are currently in the process of creating extensive plans to optimise production and quality. An additional 100-acres of vineyard space hugely expands our opportunities, and I am excited to see the exceptional wines we will make over the coming years”.
Highweald Beverages aims to further expand its market share within the English drinks market through the acquisition of complementary businesses, vineyards and land within South East England and beyond.
In addition to its English wine businesses, Highweald Beverages also owns two craft breweries – Sussex-based, 360° Brewing Company and Welsh brewer, Conwy Brewery. Collectively, the breweries have a brewing capacity of up to 1.5m litres per annum, the equivalent of 4.5m, 330ml cans.