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Warwick sold

By , 4 May 2018

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Warwick

Warwick, Stellenbosch.

Eileses Capital, a San Francisco investment firm, has acquired Stellenbosch property Warwick from the Ratcliffe family for an undisclosed sum. Eileses Capital was founded in 2016 by Kishore Bopardikar and Charles Marston, the two having worked together since 1991 and possessing extensive experience in the technology space. According to the official media releases, additional acquistions in SA are planned. 

Update – 4.5.18: Producer-wholesaler Distell has announced that it has entered into a sale agreement with Warwick Wine Estate, with Eileses Capital as its sole shareholder, with regards Stellenbosch property Uitkyk.

Update – 7.5.18: Eileses Capital explains that the acquistion of Uitkyk is key to its vision for Warwick – Uitkyk is nearly 600 hectares in size and will increase Warwick’sfootprint in the prime Simonsberg terroir to over 700 hectares making it a significant provider of high-quality wine globally. Eileses will build on Warwick’s stable of Bordeaux-centric brands and the Warwick and Uitkyk management teams remain engaged – when the purchase closes, the Uitkyk team will join the existing Warwick
team.

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    Charl | 7 May 2018

    Are there any more information available regarding the additional acquisitions planned in SA?

    Jeremy Sampson | 4 May 2018

    What do you pay for when you buy a wine brand? Yes, the land and vines. If you own them. But increasingly the brand. And how to value that? The brand and personalities will be the major part of value as wine producers go virtual. If in doubt, just look at the success of The Prisoner in California.
    In South Africa perhaps Winemag will tell us about top brands that are landless and top winemakers who simply buy in the fruit?

      Christian Eedes | 4 May 2018

      Hi Jeremy, You are correct that many of the successful new-wave producers (eg Alheit, Rall, Savage) are landless but given the severe economic challenges the industry faces, this is this is both an advantage in the sense of keeping overheads down but also a disadvantage in the sense that fruit security will always be an issue – you can’t make wine out of thin air.

        Jeremy Sampson | 5 May 2018

        Thx Christian. seems like our friends in SanFrancisco have now secured their fruit from both Warwick and Uitkyk so giving them some useful scale to play with. I’m currently in London, last night at ‘the best fish and chippie in Fulham’ – and it is – a Franschoek Cellars sauvignon blanc was priced at BPS 6. We had the pinot Grigio for BPS 5.75. The Sarson’s vinegar – complimentary – added another dimension! All perfect with traditional cod and chips.

      Edi van D’Plass | 7 September 2020

      After the COVID stuff, I’d be interested in knowing currently which SA wineries are locally owned and operated and which SA wineries are owned and part of an international portfolio. Warwick seems to be of the latter.

        Christian Eedes | 8 September 2020

        Hi Edi,

        The most high-profile internationally owned wineries as follows:
        Warwick – Eileses Capital (California, USA)
        Taaibosch (previously Cordoba) and Pink Valley (previously Romond) – Oddo Family (France)
        Ken Forrester, L’Avenir, Le Bonheur, Stellenbosch Vineyards – Advini (France)
        Ernie Els, Stellenzicht and potentially Alto – LVS Capital (Germany)
        Rupert & Rothschild – stake held by Benjamin de Rothschild (France)
        Klein Constantia and Anwilka – Zdeněk Bakala (Czech/USA)

        The list goes on…

    Kwispedoor | 3 May 2018

    It would make for interesting reading if you could list the selling prices of recent winelands deals, like this one, Stellenzicht’s, etc.

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