One of the UK’s leading wine estate agents has warned that a growing number of English wine producers are suffering financially and looking to sell up. 

Chris Spofforth, head of farm agency team Savills that covers Kent, Sussex and Surrey, said: “There are definitely more opportunities for buyers. Some are off market, others we just know that if an approach were made, [the owner] would be open. When something moves from more boutique to more commercial… the numbers aren’t as pretty as it looks from the outside.”

Spofforth warns that it is proving harder to sell mature wine businesses. “It’s easier to pin a number [on a vineyard] than on a business and a brand,” he said.  

Against this challenging backdrop, a slew of wineries face financial difficulties or sustained losses. Sussex’s Highweald, which expanded with backing from private equity group Cadman Capital, went into administration in April. However, Robin Langton, director of Highweald, said recovery is immiment.

“We are working through a process of administration that we are confident we will successfully resolve within two weeks with the support of our investors,” he said.

Ridgeview has also been strongly rumoured to be mulling a sale. It made a loss of £1.5 million in 2023. The company did not respond to requests for comment. 

Last year, Chapel Down announced that it was seeking a buyer after 2024 revenues slid 5% and it left the spirits market after a decline in sales. After a costly strategic review failed to identify either further investments or a buyer, last October it announced that it is no longer for sale. Chapel Down told Drinks Retailing that its net sales revenue in 2024 was down year on year because of its performance in the off-trade, which was impacted by a one-off factor of destocking by retailers. Meanwhile, its 2024 full year results, released in April, show that Chapel Down was “trading well” in 2025. The brand now “expects strong sales growth for the year with a return to full profitability”.

Meanwhile, Gusbourne suffered over £3m of losses in 2024. In March, it delisted from the stock market. Conservative politician Lord Ashcroft still owns two thirds of its shares: he was forced to give it a £1.5m short-term unsecured loan in November 2023 and to refinance its borrowings with a £20m bond in January 2024. Last year, the peer was reportedly considering selling his stake.

At Rathfinny, losses have fallen, but remain high. In the year ending March 2024, the Sussex producer lost £2.1m on sales of £4.1m. The company said last year that it was looking for a buyer. And at Nyetimber, owner Eric Heerema admitted earlier in April that he has yet to make a profit since acquiring the sparkling producer for a reported £7.5m in 2006. It lost £1.9m in 2023.

Elsewhere, winery finances may be healthier – though paying owners poorly. At Hampshire’s Hattingley Valley, owner Simon Robinson says that he is on course to make a profit this year – for the first time in 18 years. At Balfour, net profits in 2023 were under £32,000 on turnover of nearly £5m.

“There are difficulties when people have put a huge amount in and they’re not really paying themselves much money,” Spofforth commented. “Passion is great, but it doesn’t pay all the bills.”

For many wineries, the challenges have been compounded by the large 2023 harvest. “Quite a lot of vineyards are carrying a lot of stock – that’s clearly not good for cash flow,” Spofforth said. 

One boutique producer added: “Anecdotally, there are many more people offering wine sur latte for white-label buyers.”

Wine industry hopes were then dashed by last autumn’s disappointing Budget. “Tax is a major factor,” Hattingley’s Robinson said. “With VAT, duty, National Insurance, EPR and so on, it’s approaching half of the total bottle price.”

Many larger English wineries are at a difficult stage in their evolution, having taken on large debts to expand. Sparkling producers seeking to create brands face particular challenges. 

One English boutique producer cautioned: “In a noisy world, and in a very crowded market, [building an international brand identity] is eye-wateringly expensive. My sense is you’d need to be prepared to spend at least £10 million a year for a decade to do this.” 

Gusbourne’s reported sales and marketing costs last year for example, were nearly £3.5m against net revenue of £7.1m.

“Ultimately it’s still rewarding for a lot of people,” said Spofforth. “But the market is challenging.”