The director presents his annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2023.
During the normal course of the year in December 2021 we established an Employee Ownership Trust that transferred ownership of the business to and for the benefit of employees. A new trustee board has been established to ensure we step through the opportunities this new ownership model provides to all current and future employees. We look to run the business with our existing management team structure supported by the new Trustee Board. Our journey of employee ownership is underway.
Winchester Wines Group Ltd was created to allow the wine businesses within the Group Company to be
managed based on their relevant customer segments. Winchester Wines EOT Ltd was created in December 2021 to manage the subsidiaries for the benefit of all employees.
Milton Sandford Wines has been trading since 1990 in the 'on trade' segment whilst offering wine storage facilities and The Secret Cellar since 2006 in the retail segment. The Secret Cellar Ltd comprises four retail premier wine stores in the South East of England.
The two wine-market companies retain separate customer engagement management teams to ensure focus and leadership are in place whilst the efficiencies of sharing inventory, managing the HMRC approved Bonded facility at The Old Chalk Mine for both companies, will continue to be managed in the term ahead.
The director who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements was as follows:
Mr J H Winchester
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.
In order to assist you to fulfil your duties under the Companies Act 2006, we have prepared for your approval the financial statements of Winchester Wines Group Limited for the year ended 30 June 2023 which comprise, the balance sheet, the statement of changes in equity and the related notes from the company’s accounting records and from information and explanations you have given us.
It is your duty to ensure that Winchester Wines Group Limited has kept adequate accounting records and to prepare statutory financial statements that give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of Winchester Wines Group Limited. You consider that Winchester Wines Group Limited is exempt from the statutory audit requirement for the year.
We have not been instructed to carry out an audit or a review of the financial statements of Winchester Wines Group Limited. For this reason, we have not verified the accuracy or completeness of the accounting records or information and explanations you have given to us and we do not, therefore, express any opinion on the statutory financial statements.
Winchester Wines Group Limited is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Old Chalk Mine, Warren Row Road, Knowl Hill, Reading, Berkshire, RG10 8QS.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Going concern
The director has agreed to support the company and in his opinion the company will be trading for at least 12 months from the date when this report is signed.
In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the director is required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:
The immediate and ultimate parent is Winchester Wines EOT, a trust incorporated in England and Wales.
The registered office of the parent company is:
The Old Chalk Mine, Warren Row Road, Knowl Hill, Reading, Berkshire, RG10 8QS
The ultimate controlling parties are Mr J H Winchester, Mr B R Cowl and Ms J Smart, who are the shareholders of the company Winchester Wines EOT Limited, which owns the shares in Winchester Wines EOT.