Buyers lock horns for

Yates's wine offering by Tony Halstead Yates has put its legendary "Aussie White" wine brand up for sale ­ and two buyers are locked in a bidding war for control of the famous label, synonymous with the golden era of the company's wine lodge pubs. The sale of Yates's Original Australian White Wine, a 17.5% abv fortified wine blended with grape brandy, is expected to net the company in excess of £1m. LWC Drinks, based in Manchester, has confirmed it is one of the bidders while the second company vying to buy the brand is believed to be Halewood International on Merseyside. But Yates chief executive Mark Jones has denied claims by LWC that its bid had been turned down in favour of a lower offer from Halewood. "No decision has yet been made and the future ownership of the brand has still not yet been determined," he said. "But we are always interested in bidders who can meet the right price, so when people come up with the right money we listen," he added. But he stressed: "A sale like this is not always just about the price, because one of the other key issues is the relationship we would have with the brand's new owner." LWC's managing director Robin Gray said he had increased his offer for Aussie White from an original £1m to £1.25m but understood Yates intended to accept a lower rival offer. "I would have hoped a plc company such as Yates would do the right thing by its shareholders and accept the highest bid," he said. Gray said the stumbling block appeared to rest on future supply terms if LWC bought the brand. LWC has wholesale depots across the north, Midlands and south west of England, and also supplies its own label drinks brands, such as premium packaged spirit, Moonshine, to its 35 pubs and huge network of free trade accounts. Halewood, which is based at Huyton near Liverpool, supplies best-selling drinks brands such as Lambrini and Red Square. Yates sold the distribution rights of Aussie White to a bottling company several years ago, but when the firm ceased trading full control of the brand was automatically returned back to it. Aussie wine steeped in tradition Yates's Australian White Wine became synonymous with the company's famous "Blob" drink, beloved of older patrons in its northern-based wine lodges throughout the 1950s and 60s. The "Blob" came with hot water and a sugar cube to form a "hot toddy"-style drink, but nowadays it is used by younger drinkers as a modern "shot".