Chapel Down: Off-trade issues pull England’s biggest winemaker down

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Retail Reporter

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Chapel Down is headquartered in Kent
Chapel Down is headquartered in Kent

Sales at England’s biggest winemaker, Chapel Down, fell in 2024 due to “one-off” issues in the first half of the year, but the company has still reported net sales revenue in line with guidance.

Chapel Down’s share price rose more than two per cent in early trades.

Sales of sparkling wine, which accounts for more than two thirds of Chapel Down’s sales, fell from £11.4m in 2023, to £10.6m in 2024.

Chapel Down attributed the fall to one-off challenges in the off-trade (shop sales) due to a significant reduction in stock held by retailers in the first half of the year, which it does “not expect to recur.”

Sales of still wine grew 22 per cent to £3.1m, from £2.5m in 2023, due to “customer demand, increased distribution and [lower prices]”.

Chapel Down left the spirits market last year, with sales petering out to £0.2m, from £0.6m in 2023.

Overall sales fell five per cent to £16.3m, from £17.2m in 2023. Excluding the now-exited spirits market, sales fell three per cent.

Chapel Down chief executive Andrew Carter said: “2024 was a year of continued strong consumer demand for Chapel Down’s award-winning wines, as well as significant strategic and operational progress for the Company.

“Chapel Down enjoyed strong growth in its direct-to-consumer channels, maintained its market leadership in the critical off-trade, with strong sales momentum across our channels in the second half of the year, accelerating in the all-important final quarter.”

The company planted 118 acres of new vines last year, taking its total acreage to 1,024 – around 10 per cent of the UK’s total.

The UK surpassed 1,000 vineyards last July.

Due to global warming, grape-growing conditions in many areas of the South are similar to those in Champagne, France, fifty years ago.

Sales of English sparkling wine have risen 187 per cent since 2018, from 2.2m bottles to 6.2m in 2023, according to WineGB.

“Chapel Down continues to consolidate its position as the leading English winemaker, with the strongest brand metrics and the deepest distribution in English wine,” Carter added.

James Pennefather will replace Andrew Carter as CEO on February 1, 2025.