The company said the acquisition establishes Majestic Group as the UK’s largest premium wine specialist in retail, wholesale and hospitality.
The acquisition includes all of Enotria&Coe’s 300 staff, its fleet of delivery vehicles and existing inventory, as well as the leases on its bonded warehouse and offices in Park Royal, and The Great Wine Co store in Bath.
Majestic’s on-trade specialist arm, Majestic Commercial, and Enotria&Coe will continue to operate as stand-alone businesses following the acquisition.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Majestic said the deal represents the most significant strategic investment it has made since its split from Naked Wines and subsequent acquisition by Fortress Investment Group in December 2019.
Potential growth
Since then, following the reintroduction of former management and with the backing of its investor, Majestic has opened 23 new stores and acquired Vagabond Wines, bringing nine experiential wine bars and 170 staff members into the Majestic business.
Founded as Enotria Wines by Remo Nardone in 1972, Enotria&Coe works with a diverse range of more than 300 producers, including more than 200 exclusive agency brands. The business supplies a host of premium restaurants, hotels and hospitality venues, including Gaucho, Rick Stein, Hotel du Vin/Malmaison, Bancone and L’Enclume.
Majestic said it has identified significant potential to further grow Enotria&Coe alongside its existing B2B specialist arm, Majestic Commercial, with both continuing to operate as standalone businesses.
Majestic said that the combination of “assets, highly-qualified colleagues and unique portfolios” would create an enlarged, highly competitive on-trade specialist with differentiated service and product proposition.
Accelerate strategy
Majestic CEO John Colley said: “We’ve had a long-standing ambition to become the UK’s go-to supplier of premium wines, beers and spirits, and the acquisition of Enotria&Coe is a huge statement of our intent in this market.
“We have grown our specialist on-trade business at an impressive rate over the past five years but this combination will accelerate our strategy by enhancing our wine portfolio, expanding our team of expert sales colleagues and ramping up our logistics capabilities.”
He added: “Through this exciting acquisition, and last year’s purchase of Vagabond Wines, we are repositioning the Majestic Group and laying the foundations for long-term, sustainable growth as the UK’s largest premium wine specialist in retail, wholesale and hospitality.”
Enotria&Coe ceo Julian Momen said: “I am super excited about the start of a new era for the Enotria&Coe business as part of the Majestic Group. The leadership team, along with our entire organisation, are committed to driving better availability, service and range, for the benefit of our customers and our suppliers.”
Enotria&Coe has grown consistently across all supply channels during the past two decades, buying Wheeler Cellars in 2008, Great Western Wine – now trading from its Bath shop as The Great Wine Co – in 2010, and Coe Vintners in 2015.
