GUS Gusbourne Plc

20 November 2024

Gusbourne Plc

 ("Gusbourne", the "Company" or the "Group")

Gusbourne Partners with Enotria&Coe to Enhance UK Trade Distribution

Gusbourne Plc (AIM: GUS), the premium English sparkling wine producer, is pleased to announce it has partnered with the UK's leading premium wine and spirits distributor, Enotria&Coe. The innovative partnership is expected to broaden the reach of Gusbourne's wines within the UK on trade and is expected to drive incremental sales in Q4 2024 and beyond. 

This hybrid distribution agreement - the first of its kind on this scale for an English wine producer - allows Gusbourne to continue its unique, direct sales approach while leveraging Enotria&Coe's extensive distribution network and industry expertise. 

Since 2019, Gusbourne has distinguished itself in the industry by managing its UK on-trade sales directly, a strategy that has fostered strong customer relationships and bolstered its reputation for excellence. Through this approach, Gusbourne has formed partnerships with top-tier hotels, restaurants, and bars across the UK, and garnered critical acclaim at international wine competitions. Now, with Enotria&Coe's support, Gusbourne is poised to expand its reach further, bringing its award-winning wines to even more hospitality establishments throughout the UK.

In early 2024, Gusbourne was honoured to become the only English Wine producer ever to attain a King's Award for Enterprise for International Trade. The Company has also received numerous awards for its wines, across a broad range of different styles and vintages, achieving over 30 awards in the first half of the year. This included Gusbourne Blanc de Blancs 2019 being recognised as National Champion wine at the recent 2024 Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships. The Group was also recently crowned as one of the best vineyards in the World's Best Vineyards 2024, recognising the finest vineyards across the globe, taking note of their landscapes, history, restaurants, tours and other experiences they have on offer. Gusbourne was the only English wine producer named in the World's Top 50.

Jonathan White, CEO of Gusbourne, commented: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Enotria&Coe to distribute a selection of Gusbourne wines to the UK on trade. Enotria&Coe's values, and commitment to excellence, align perfectly with Gusbourne's vision and position in the luxury and premium hospitality sector.

"Our high-performing direct Gusbourne sales team are looking forward to working closely with Enotria&Coe's team of fine wine specialists to broaden our distribution into parts of the UK that we're currently not able to reach. It is tremendously exciting to be pioneering the first hybrid distribution partnership of this scale in the UK and we are thrilled that this initiative will enable more sparkling wine consumers to be able to enjoy our wines in leading hotels, bars and restaurants throughout the UK."

Enotria&Coe CEO Julian Momen added: "Gusbourne is renowned around the world as one of the finest producers of English wine. Sharing our vision of delivering inspiring, exceptional wines to customers across the UK, which are championing innovation and sustainability in everything they do, we believe Gusbourne are the perfect addition to our existing offering of best-in-class producers. With our unrivalled footprint of expert Account Managers across the UK, Enotria&Coe are very excited to be able to provide on-trade customers the opportunity to access Gusbourne, especially those who have been unable to purchase it before, due either to geographical limitations or an inability to meet a minimum order quantity."

Together, Gusbourne and Enotria&Coe aim to redefine distribution in the English wine market, setting a new standard for hybrid partnerships and ensuring that English sparkling wine reaches a broader, appreciative audience.

Enquiries:

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as amended by regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain. The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Katharine Berry, Chief Financial Officer.

Note: This and other press releases are available at the Company's website: www.gusbourne.com/investors

Note to Editors

Gusbourne produces and distributes a range of high quality and award winning vintage English sparkling wines from grapes grown in its own vineyards in Kent and West Sussex.

The Gusbourne business was founded by Andrew Weeber in 2004 with the first vineyard plantings at Appledore in Kent. The first wines were released in 2010 to critical acclaim. Following additional vineyard plantings in 2013 and 2015 in both Kent and West Sussex, Gusbourne now has 93 hectares of mature vineyards. The Nest visitor centre was opened next to the winery in Appledore in 2017, providing tours, tastings and a direct outlet for our wines.

Right from the beginning, Gusbourne's intention has always been to produce the finest English sparkling wines. Starting with carefully chosen sites, we use best practice in establishing and maintaining the vineyards and conduct green harvests to ensure we achieve the highest quality grapes for each vintage. A quest for excellence is at the heart of everything we do. We blind taste hundreds of samples before finalising our blends and even after the wines are bottled, they spend extended time on their lees to add depth and flavour. Once disgorged, extra cork ageing further enhances complexity. Our winemaking process remains traditional, but one that is open to innovation where appropriate. It takes four years to bring a vineyard into full production and a further four years to transform those grapes into Gusbourne's premium sparkling wine.

Gusbourne's luxury brand enjoys premium price positioning and is distributed in the finest establishments both in the UK and abroad. Our wines can be found in leading luxury retailers, restaurants, hotels and stockists, always being aware that where we are says a lot about who we are.

For more information, visit www.gusbourneplc.com