Walsall wine merchant buys Wine Cellar off licence chain
A Walsall wine wholesaler has stepped in to buy 109 stores from administrators – preserving 700 jobs in the process.
European Food Brokers, which is owned by Rajinder Chatha, has agreed a deal to buy Cheshire-based Wine Cellar, which also operates the Booze Buster, Simply Drinks and Simply Food & Drinks brands, from administrator Deloitte.
Mr Chatha, who also owns the Whittalls Wines chain and is worth an estimated £50 million, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, agreed to take all but 61 of Wine Cellar’s 170 stores, as well as the firm’s Runcorn head office, which employs 60 members of staff.
However, administrators confirmed the remaining stores would close, with the loss of around 320 jobs.
The latest accounts available for the Wine Cellar group showed pre-tax losses of almost £1 million in the year to January 27 last year, on sales of £62.6 million.
Deloitte partner Bill Dawson said: "The company has undertaken an extensive search to find an investor or buyer. It has become necessary to sell the business via an administration, due to its financial position."
Despite the losses, the accounts said the group "continued to buck the trend of a challenging retail alcohol market".
It said the credit crunch and the smoking ban had encouraged drinking at home, while its move into convenience stores through the Simply Food & Drink stores had driven local custom.
"The directors are confident of continued improvements in trading at a like for like level," the accounts added.
