20 July 2021

Virgin Wines UK plc

("Virgin Wines" or the "Group")

Trading Update

Virgin Wines UK plc (AIM: VINO), one of the UK's largest direct-to-consumer online wine retailers, today provides an update on trading for the year ended 30 June 2021 ("FY21").

The Board is pleased to announce that the financial year finished positively with strong levels of customer demand in May and June. Revenue and EBITDA for FY21 are now anticipated to be marginally higher than previous expectations*, with revenue of £73.8 million (FY20: £56.6 million), an increase of 30% over FY20 and a 74% increase over FY19, and EBITDA of £6.4 million (FY20: £4.4 million), an increase of 45% over FY20 and a 183% increase over FY19. The customer base grew year-on-year by 24% and is up 44% since the start of 2020.

The Company also remains well capitalised with net cash of £8.4 million as at 30 June 2021. The Company continues to assess opportunities to invest this cash to deliver attractive shareholder returns, including organic investment initiatives.

Preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2021 are scheduled for the week ending 22 October 2021.

*The Board considers current market expectations for the year ended 30 June 2021 to be revenue of £73 million and EBITDA of £6.3 million.

Outlook

Positive sales momentum has continued into July despite the Government's lifting of lockdown restrictions and the opening up of hospitality across England. The Board is confident that the underlying growth drivers which the direct-to-consumer wine sector is experiencing, as well as the shift in customer behaviour towards online retailing, remain strong.   

Jay Wright, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"FY21 has been a transformational year for Virgin Wines delivering significant growth in our revenue, our profit and our customer base. This has been achieved whilst successfully listing the business on AIM and navigating the operational complexities that comes with significant growth in a COVID world. Over this period, keeping our people safe alongside maintaining the outstanding service levels our customers are so used to, has been a priority.

I would like to thank the whole Virgin Wines team for their energy, enthusiasm and dedication through what has been a challenging time for many of them personally. The support, care and camaraderie shown by our colleagues to each other in so many positive ways, has been tremendous proof of the unique culture that has been created over many years. 

We finish FY21 in excellent shape and in a stronger position than ever to continue our growth. Whilst we will all be watching with interest consumer trends that may develop over the coming year, we have seen nothing but encouraging signs over recent months that the customers we have acquired are staying loyal, our subscription schemes are as robust as ever and that our ability to attract new customers at a competitive cost per recruit remains.

I strongly believe the strength of our business model, with our consistent and proven ability to deliver increased profit in tandem with increased revenue, places us in an advantageous position when it comes to being a long-term e-commerce winner in a post lockdown world."

Information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Enquiries:

Notes to editors: 

Virgin Wines is one of the UK's largest direct-to-consumer online wine retailers. More than 90% of its wines by volume are exclusive and over the past 12 months the company delivered over one million cases to its customers. The company also sells a growing range of beers and spirits as well as having an industry leading gift service and a thriving corporate sales department.

It is a multi-award-winning business with a reputation for curating and supplying high quality products, excellent levels of customer service and innovative ways of retailing.

https://www.virginwinesplc.co.uk/

https://www.virginwines.co.uk/