The director presents his annual report and financial statements for the period ended 31 December 2023.
The director who held office during the period and up to the date of signature of the financial statements was as follows:
The Wine Company (UK) Limited
My review last year chose three inter-linked themes which I and my colleagues believe are at the heart of our success as a business.
Delivering Promises, People First & Reliability, Consistency & Innovation.
A year later, on reviewing our results, my colleagues and I see no need to change our themes, our priorities, or our strategies. In a challenging external environment, we have outperformed a number of our rivals in the premium e-commerce wine channel. During this period, we have taken the opportunity to align our financial year end with a number of leading companies in our specialist sector.
The company continued to trade well above pre-Covid levels following on from the welcome boost generated by many well organised e-commerce wine businesses during the Covid period.
We have retained most of our existing customers and recruited more than 5,500 new customers, since we reported last year.
Our margins remain resilient assisted by our continual development of supplier relationships.
I am pleased to confirm for the accounting period to December 2023, the company turnover was £8.58m yielding a gross profit of £3.35m during the period.
Our marketing strategy is to recruit responsible consumers in all age groups whose wine consumption is quality orientated and who genuinely prefer to ‘choose better wine’. Within our ongoing analysis we appreciate that the majority of our customers share our passion of enjoying better wines at home which are both distinctive and authentic. In addition, we continue to enjoy strong connections with our friends in the dining rooms, restaurants & hotels who have a gastronomic focus and we appreciate each other’s speciality. We will continue our own very high standards of quality wines and outstanding service.
As I write this review in late summer, I can report a return to more regular consumer buying patterns as we approach an encouraging start to the autumn of 2024 and as new discerning consumers continue to turn to us to ensure they select wines of genuine quality and value.
My own hard-working and dedicated professional team never cease to amaze me and remind everyone who enjoys trading with the simplicity of system-based technologies that The Wine Company and its teams are easily reached by phone or email with a personal touch. Our systems are modern, constantly improving, and simple to interface and our personal relationships are unashamedly old-fashioned and individual in their focus and direction. It’s a combination that works well.
I would like to thank my colleagues, our loyal customers, our inspiring wine producers and supportive stakeholders for the ongoing support they all give to both of our wine merchants, MR.WHEELER Wine & From Vineyards Direct.
Undoubtedly at this current time we may all face a few more challenging months ahead but, whatever those challenges, we are ready to deliver a highly professional service along with our specialist expertise and our friendly accessible approach.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.
The Wine Company (UK) Ltd is a private company limited by shares incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Octagon Suite E2, 2nd Floor Middleborough, Colchester, Essex, CO1 1TG.
The reporting period length of the financial statements is prepared over an extended period of 18 months therefore will not be wholly comparable to future periods.
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 £.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is credited or charged to profit or loss.
Equity instruments issued by the company are recorded at the proceeds received, net of transaction costs. Dividends payable on equity instruments are recognised as liabilities once they are no longer at the discretion of the company.
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 period was:
A fixed and floating charge exists over all the property or undertaking of the company in favour of The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC dated 4 November 2022.
Third Party loans totalling £327,911 at the period end were secured by personal guarantee.
No other guarantees have been given or received during the period.