‘Exceptional harvest’ boosts revenues 15 per cent at Kent’s Chapel Down winery

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Daniel Face

Chapel Down has hailed an ‘exceptional harvest’, posting net sales revenues of £17.9 million for the year ended 31 December 2023 – up 15 per cent on the previous year.

The Kent winery saw particular growth in its brand-defining traditional method sparkling (TMS) wines, selling 887,000 bottles to boost revenues 25 per cent.

It also celebrated the ‘continued premiumisation’ of the brand, with Chapel Down’s average selling price up 13 per cent for 2023.

The business closed out the year with a successful listing on AIM last December.

It’s now looking to the future with the planting of the Boxley Abbey vineyard on the North Downs of Kent, growing its area share of UK planted vineyards to almost 10 per cent – with plans also to begin planting at Buckwell this spring.

Andrew Carter, CEO of Chapel Down, said: “2023 was a landmark year for English wine and Chapel Down.

“It’s great to see the strategic and operational progress that we’ve delivered, and the continuing sales momentum that we have.

“In line with our 2023 targets, the business achieved double-digit net sales revenue growth, driven by the exceptional performance of our traditional method sparkling wine and growth across all of our UK and international trade channels and our direct-to-consumer business.

“Chapel Down continues to grow profitably – a core strength which, along with our strong balance sheet, makes us resilient and underpins our ambitious future growth plans.

“We have the leading brand, the deepest distribution which we continue to expand at pace, and we continue to win international acclaim for the quality of our wines.

“Our continued outstanding performance, and the fantastic, record-breaking 2023 harvest, means our passionate and highly skilled team carries significant momentum into the new financial year.”

Chapel Down expects to deliver another round of double-digit sales growth next year, though forecasts ‘a more typical harvest’ than the exceptional crop of 2023.

Daniel Face

Born and raised in Berkshire, Dan fell into journalism after completing his bachelor’s degree in English at UCL. Writing for The Business Magazine and local Biz News sites has given him the opportunity to chat with all manner of small business owners and share their success stories with a wider audience. Outside of work, Dan enjoys live music, board games and quiz shows, and is making a slow but persistent effort to learn Spanish.