BUSINESS LIVE: Chapel Down seeks AIM listing; OnTheMarket takeover row; Taylor Wimpey ups

Nearly twice as many used electric cars are being sold in Britain than a year ago as more second-hand EVs enter the market, official figures show.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 34,021 pure battery electric cars changed hands between July and September – 99.9 per cent more than the same period a year ago.

AstraZeneca has upgraded its annual guidance after increasing sales of oncology medicines helped compensate for a lack of Covid-19 vaccine orders.

The pharmaceutical giant now expects its revenue, excluding Covid-related drugs, for the year to grow by a ‘low-teens percentage’, compared to a low double-digit percentage as previously guided.

S4 Capital shares plummeted on Thursday as the group trimmed its outlook and revealed reported billings fell by 7 per cent to £450.3million in the third quarter.

The digital advertising agency, founded by Sir Martin Sorrell, saw reported revenue fall 18.1 per cent to £245.9 million, down 13 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

(PA) – McDonald’s faces intensifying pressure over its culture after the fast-food chain was hit by further allegations related to sexual assault, racism and bullying at franchises.

The head of the company’s UK business has now been summoned to answer questions from MPs at Parliament next week as a result.

It came after a law firm confirmed a group legal action has been launched in relation to assault and harassment allegations.

Alistair Macrow, chief executive of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, said the company is “determined to root out” behaviour which falls below expected standards.

The boss previously launched a programme of independent investigations, audits of its complaints procedure, reviews of its code of conduct and a number of full disciplinary hearings.

On Thursday, lawyers at Leigh Day said they were representing McDonald’s staff members who claimed they were “being groped and harassed almost routinely” while at the fast-food chain.

One client, who the law firm refers to as Rachel, said she tried to report the sexual harassment she experienced while employed by McDonald’s via email but did not receive a response.

The 17-year-old said she witnessed male colleagues making bets on who could sleep with new starters, experienced a manager touching her on her bottom and heard older male crew members making comments about her body, according to the claim.

The legal action comes after a BBC investigation earlier this year made public a raft of sexual abuse claims.

On Thursday, the broadcaster revealed a number of new allegations from workers who said they faced abuse and said around 160 people had got in touch since July with abuse claims.

Fuel retailers continue to pocket higher-than-normal margins on every litre of petrol and diesel sold to drivers following an investigation by the competitions watchdog that found they had been inflating their prices to the detriment of hard-up motorists.

During September and October, drivers were hit by ‘significant increases’ in operator margins when calculating the differences between pump prices and the wholesale price of both fuels, according to an update from the Competition and Markets Authority.

How badly are you being hit by the insurance stealth tax?

Insurers have come under the cosh for hiking car and home insurance prices over the past year but the Treasury is making the pain worse, thanks to insurance premium tax.

Flutter Entertainment shares slumped after the gambling operator warned that annual non-US profits are set to come in at the bottom-end of forecasts.

Shares in the Paddy Power owner slumped 8.8 per cent to £124.90 after the group said adjusted earnings before nasties for its business outside the US was predicted to be around $1.44billion for 2023, having previously guided for as much as £1.6billion.

Auto Trader Group shares rose sharply on Thursday after the firm unveiled a 12 per cent year-on-year rise in first-half revenue to £280.5million.

The FTSE 250 group credited a resilient used car market, which drove record numbers of buyers to its platform over the period.

B&M and WH Smith have become the latest retailers to reveal plans to expand the size of their UK estate over the next year.

FTSE 100-listed B&M has said it is on track to open ‘not less than’ 125 new stores across the UK over the next three years, with the bargain retailer capitalising on rival Wilko’s demise.

National Grid has upped its planned capital spend by £2billion to £42billion over 2025-26, as it steps up investment in UK onshore and offshore transmission projects.

The electricity and gas utility group has been trying to transition to more renewable power generation and hasten its clean energy projects as global economies target net zero emissions.

An investment activist has urged OnTheMarket stakeholders to reject the group’s takeover by US-based CoStar, arguing the deal is ‘not in the UK’s national interest’.

Brett Stone, who is not himself an investor in the group, said the £99million deal was ‘opportunistic’ and ‘significantly undervalues’ the property portal.

Taylor Wimpey expects 2023 profits to come in at the top end of guidance following a ‘resilient performance’ amid ‘significant uncertainty’ in the housing market.

The property developer anticipates making £440million to £470million in operating profits this year, which it attributed to a ‘focus on optimising price and sharp cost discipline’.

Expensive aftermarket electric vehicle (EV) charging cables can pose a major safety risk to drivers, a new investigation has found.

In a number of tests, the probe found there is a risk of overheating and electric shocks for users.

Mark Crouch, analyst at eToro:

‘Traditionally, WHSmith may have been known for its high street stores but these days, its travel business is by far the most important division within the group.

‘Those stores you see in train stations and airports, which were hammered during the pandemic but have since recovered strongly, now account for a whopping 74% of group revenue and 79% of profit.

‘The retailer plans to open a further 110 new travel stores, 100 of which will be delivered this financial year, which means we can probably expect a significant leap in travel revenue next year also.

‘That’s a good thing for the group, given the stagnant performance of its high street arm, but it does leave it overexposed to a slowdown in the global travel sector.’

Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown:

‘Astrazeneca has put its best foot forward today following investor disappointment with Dato DXd data earlier in the year. Over the third quarter, oncology sales were up 17% despite the non-recurrence of milestone payments on Lynparza.

‘And there was were an eye-catching performance from Farxiga for Chronic Kidney Disease, which grew quarterly sales by 41% to $1.6bn now representing over 10% of total revenue.

‘The market should take some reassurance from the strong commercial and clinical progress being made. Astra has an outstanding track record of delivering novel therapies and its not standing still. It’s made two further deals this month.

‘Ecogene is likely to grab the most attention given the markets obsession with GLP-1 obesity treatments. The idea of a magic pill for weight loss, as opposed to the current injectable options in the class, clearly has its commercial attractions. If successful, then the potential $1.8bn consideration may well be worth it.

‘But given it’s still in phase 1, there is a long path to follow. Meanwhile, the deal with Cellectis to develop up to 10 novel cell and gene therapy candidate products would seem a natural fit with Astra’s impressive portfolio.’

Chapel Down has unveiled plans to move its share listing to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) after enjoying a record harvest this year.

The Kent-based winemaker’s shares are currently traded on the Aquis Exchange and the group hopes a move to AIM will enable it to attract a wider pool of investors and improve liquidity over time.

The group plans to plan to double the size of its business between 2021 and 2026, in part, by ‘a re-focus of the business on wine’, in particular sparkling wine, and investment in consumer and customer marketing.

The FTSE 100 is trading lower this morning, dragged by a drop in shares of Flutter after a dour forecast, as investors await comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the path for global interest rates.

Flutter has slumped 9 per cent, dragging the travel and leisure index to over a week’s low, after the online betting company said it expects full-year earnings, excluding the nascent US market, at the bottom of its previously forecast range.

AstraZeneca is among the top gainers on FTSE 100, jumping 1.8 per cent after the drugmaker raised its annual core profit outlook, buoyed by strong demand for its oncology and rare blood disorder drugs.

Taylor Wimpey is up 2 per cent after the homebuilder forecast annual operating profit at the top end of its previous outlook range.

The price of a barrel of oil crashed below $80 for the first time in nearly four months last night.

On another day of turmoil on global commodity markets, Brent crude fell as low as $79.20 having been trading at close to $97 in late September.

Discount retailer B&M has raised full-year profit guidance after reporting a 16.1 per cnet rise in first half core earnings, with the group flagging strong trading momentum.

B&M now expects 2023/24 adjusted earnings before nasties of £620million to £630million pounds, up from £573million last year.

Adjusted EBITDA for its first half was £269million, with revenue up 10.4 per cent to £2.55billion as B&M’s products and prices chimed with consumers in an ongoing cost of living crisis.

‘I am delighted that many of our existing shareholders have been with us since our IPO and continue to see our long-term growth potential.

‘With our new store number guidance (of not less than 1,200 B&M UK stores) and continued LFL growth, we have the runway to at least double our size in the UK in the medium term, while France also offers sizeable long-term potential.’

WH Smith has posted a full-year profit slightly above analysts’ expectations, helped by increased footfall at its stores in transit locations as leisure and business travel rebounded from pandemic lows.

The group posted a headline profit before tax of £143million for the year to 31 August, up 96 per cent from last year, and just ahead of the £142.9million forecast by analysts.

‘This has been another year of significant progress for the Group. Our Travel divisions have all seen strong growth with Travel UK total revenue up 36%, North America up 32% and ROW up 99%, and I am very pleased with the start to the new financial year.

‘Our global travel business is growing in all our key markets. It is highly scalable with multiple medium and long term growth opportunities and we are seeing great results from sharing our expertise and innovation across our different geographies.

‘Our North American business is benefitting from our forensic approach to space management which has always been a key feature of our UK Travel operations. In the same way, the ability of our North American business to provide bespoke retail formats is now being successfully harnessed outside of the US.

‘WHSmith is a highly cash generative business. In 2024, we expect to invest a further £140m which will drive further growth and at the same time we expect our leverage to fall within our target range.

‘These results would not be possible without the extraordinary efforts of our entire team across the globe, and I would like to offer my sincere thanks for their support.’

The UK’s largest chip manufacturing site has been bought by a US firm after its Chinese owner was forced to sell amid a national security row.

Newport Wafer Fab, which makes semiconductors used in cars and smartphones, has been acquired by Seattle-based Vishay Intertechnology in a deal worth £144million.

Oli Creasey, property equity analyst at Quilter Cheviot:

‘Taylor Wimpey released a Q3 trading statement this morning, which paints a picture of resilience in a challenging market.

“The guidance suggests that the company has been able to maintain profit margins at the same level as in H1 2022 (operating profit margin was 1.4%), which is some way below the 20.9% reported in 2022, but still healthy, particularly in the wider context of higher interest rates and their impact on the UK property market.

‘Today’s statement contained no direct information on house prices, but management has pointed to ‘optimised prices’ as a reason for the improved guidance. We estimate that this means similar prices to those achieved in H1 2023, which had actually increased +6.7% YoY, albeit partly driven by a change in mix.

‘Management also noted that cost discipline was a key factor in maintaining profitability, and note that the company has not been buying replacement land plots at the same rate as sales – in the past 12 months, the size of TW’s landbank has shrunk by c.9,000 plots (-4k in the short term landbank, -5k in strategic pipeline). However, with 82k plots still in the short term landbank alone (equivalent to eight years of volume at 2023 rates, or six years at 2022 rates), the company has less need to buy land compared to some peers.

‘Management has noted that the current market backdrop remains uncertain, but are confident in the medium to long term fundamentals of the UK residential property market.’

Taylor Wimpey has warned of ‘significant market uncertainty’, as affordability woes from high mortgage rates dent demand.

However, the homebuilder forecast annual operating profit at the top end of its previous outlook range.

The FTSE 100 builder, which had already forecast operating profits to halve this fiscal year, now expects full-year earnings, including joint ventures, at the top end of its outlook range of £440million to £470million.

This is ahead of market forecasts of £456million pounds.

An investment activist has urged OnTheMarket shareholders to block US-based Co-Star Group’s planned takeover of the London-listed firm.

Writing to ‘shareholders, employees and all UK estate agents’, Brett Stone said the takeover ‘is not in the UK’s national interest’.

He also argues the deal undervalues the group and is ‘likely to result in significantly higher total portal costs for UK estate agents, more than 10,000 of which are small businesses’.

OnTheMarket said in a statement: ‘Similar to OnTheMarket, CoStar believes in fair and sustainable pricing that reflects the value provided by its information and marketplace solutions. CoStar intends to continue charging agent clients a small proportion of Rightmove’s current charges.’

British wine maker Chapel Down is seeking a new listing on the AIM market as part of its ‘ambitious growth plan’, with the group hoping to boost its shares’ liquidity and encourage a wider pool of investors.

Boss Andrew Carter told investors:

‘We are pleased to announce Chapel Down’s plan to admit its shares to trading on AIM, a move which reflects the maturity of the business and the ambitious growth plan we are committed to delivering in the years ahead.

‘Chapel Down has greatly benefitted from its AQSE listing over the past 20 years as it has grown from a start-up in an embryonic industry into England’s leading and largest winemaker with a consistent track record of profitable growth.

‘We believe that a move to AIM will attract a wider pool of investors to participate in Chapel Down’s growth as the leading producer in the world’s newest global wine region and as we continue to pursue our well progressed and fully funded plan to double the size of the business in the five years to 2026.

‘Today’s confirmation of a record 2023 harvest, with tonnage 86% higher than 2022 and 75% higher than the previous record posted in 2018, is creating great excitement within our business, and will underpin our strategic ambition to double the size of the business by 2026 as we continue to build Chapel Down’s position as England’s number one and most celebrated winemaker.’

Nearly twice as many used electric cars are being sold in Britain than a year ago as more second-hand EVs enter the market, official figures show.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 34,021 pure battery electric cars changed hands between July and September – 99.9 per cent more than the same period a year ago.

AstraZeneca has upgraded its annual guidance after increasing sales of oncology medicines helped compensate for a lack of Covid-19 vaccine orders.

The pharmaceutical giant now expects its revenue, excluding Covid-related drugs, for the year to grow by a ‘low-teens percentage’, compared to a low double-digit percentage as previously guided.

S4 Capital shares plummeted on Thursday as the group trimmed its outlook and revealed reported billings fell by 7 per cent to £450.3million in the third quarter.

The digital advertising agency, founded by Sir Martin Sorrell, saw reported revenue fall 18.1 per cent to £245.9 million, down 13 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

(PA) – McDonald’s faces intensifying pressure over its culture after the fast-food chain was hit by further allegations related to sexual assault, racism and bullying at franchises.

The head of the company’s UK business has now been summoned to answer questions from MPs at Parliament next week as a result.

It came after a law firm confirmed a group legal action has been launched in relation to assault and harassment allegations.

Alistair Macrow, chief executive of McDonald’s UK and Ireland, said the company is “determined to root out” behaviour which falls below expected standards.

The boss previously launched a programme of independent investigations, audits of its complaints procedure, reviews of its code of conduct and a number of full disciplinary hearings.

On Thursday, lawyers at Leigh Day said they were representing McDonald’s staff members who claimed they were “being groped and harassed almost routinely” while at the fast-food chain.

One client, who the law firm refers to as Rachel, said she tried to report the sexual harassment she experienced while employed by McDonald’s via email but did not receive a response.

The 17-year-old said she witnessed male colleagues making bets on who could sleep with new starters, experienced a manager touching her on her bottom and heard older male crew members making comments about her body, according to the claim.

The legal action comes after a BBC investigation earlier this year made public a raft of sexual abuse claims.

On Thursday, the broadcaster revealed a number of new allegations from workers who said they faced abuse and said around 160 people had got in touch since July with abuse claims.

Fuel retailers continue to pocket higher-than-normal margins on every litre of petrol and diesel sold to drivers following an investigation by the competitions watchdog that found they had been inflating their prices to the detriment of hard-up motorists.

During September and October, drivers were hit by ‘significant increases’ in operator margins when calculating the differences between pump prices and the wholesale price of both fuels, according to an update from the Competition and Markets Authority.

How badly are you being hit by the insurance stealth tax?

Insurers have come under the cosh for hiking car and home insurance prices over the past year but the Treasury is making the pain worse, thanks to insurance premium tax.

Flutter Entertainment shares slumped after the gambling operator warned that annual non-US profits are set to come in at the bottom-end of forecasts.

Shares in the Paddy Power owner slumped 8.8 per cent to £124.90 after the group said adjusted earnings before nasties for its business outside the US was predicted to be around $1.44billion for 2023, having previously guided for as much as £1.6billion.

Auto Trader Group shares rose sharply on Thursday after the firm unveiled a 12 per cent year-on-year rise in first-half revenue to £280.5million.

The FTSE 250 group credited a resilient used car market, which drove record numbers of buyers to its platform over the period.

B&M and WH Smith have become the latest retailers to reveal plans to expand the size of their UK estate over the next year.

FTSE 100-listed B&M has said it is on track to open ‘not less than’ 125 new stores across the UK over the next three years, with the bargain retailer capitalising on rival Wilko’s demise.

National Grid has upped its planned capital spend by £2billion to £42billion over 2025-26, as it steps up investment in UK onshore and offshore transmission projects.

The electricity and gas utility group has been trying to transition to more renewable power generation and hasten its clean energy projects as global economies target net zero emissions.

An investment activist has urged OnTheMarket stakeholders to reject the group’s takeover by US-based CoStar, arguing the deal is ‘not in the UK’s national interest’.

Brett Stone, who is not himself an investor in the group, said the £99million deal was ‘opportunistic’ and ‘significantly undervalues’ the property portal.

Taylor Wimpey expects 2023 profits to come in at the top end of guidance following a ‘resilient performance’ amid ‘significant uncertainty’ in the housing market.

The property developer anticipates making £440million to £470million in operating profits this year, which it attributed to a ‘focus on optimising price and sharp cost discipline’.

Expensive aftermarket electric vehicle (EV) charging cables can pose a major safety risk to drivers, a new investigation has found.

In a number of tests, the probe found there is a risk of overheating and electric shocks for users.

Mark Crouch, analyst at eToro:

‘Traditionally, WHSmith may have been known for its high street stores but these days, its travel business is by far the most important division within the group.

‘Those stores you see in train stations and airports, which were hammered during the pandemic but have since recovered strongly, now account for a whopping 74% of group revenue and 79% of profit.

‘The retailer plans to open a further 110 new travel stores, 100 of which will be delivered this financial year, which means we can probably expect a significant leap in travel revenue next year also.

‘That’s a good thing for the group, given the stagnant performance of its high street arm, but it does leave it overexposed to a slowdown in the global travel sector.’

Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown:

‘Astrazeneca has put its best foot forward today following investor disappointment with Dato DXd data earlier in the year. Over the third quarter, oncology sales were up 17% despite the non-recurrence of milestone payments on Lynparza.

‘And there was were an eye-catching performance from Farxiga for Chronic Kidney Disease, which grew quarterly sales by 41% to $1.6bn now representing over 10% of total revenue.

‘The market should take some reassurance from the strong commercial and clinical progress being made. Astra has an outstanding track record of delivering novel therapies and its not standing still. It’s made two further deals this month.

‘Ecogene is likely to grab the most attention given the markets obsession with GLP-1 obesity treatments. The idea of a magic pill for weight loss, as opposed to the current injectable options in the class, clearly has its commercial attractions. If successful, then the potential $1.8bn consideration may well be worth it.

‘But given it’s still in phase 1, there is a long path to follow. Meanwhile, the deal with Cellectis to develop up to 10 novel cell and gene therapy candidate products would seem a natural fit with Astra’s impressive portfolio.’

Chapel Down has unveiled plans to move its share listing to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) after enjoying a record harvest this year.

The Kent-based winemaker’s shares are currently traded on the Aquis Exchange and the group hopes a move to AIM will enable it to attract a wider pool of investors and improve liquidity over time.

The group plans to plan to double the size of its business between 2021 and 2026, in part, by ‘a re-focus of the business on wine’, in particular sparkling wine, and investment in consumer and customer marketing.

The FTSE 100 is trading lower this morning, dragged by a drop in shares of Flutter after a dour forecast, as investors await comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the path for global interest rates.

Flutter has slumped 9 per cent, dragging the travel and leisure index to over a week’s low, after the online betting company said it expects full-year earnings, excluding the nascent US market, at the bottom of its previously forecast range.

AstraZeneca is among the top gainers on FTSE 100, jumping 1.8 per cent after the drugmaker raised its annual core profit outlook, buoyed by strong demand for its oncology and rare blood disorder drugs.

Taylor Wimpey is up 2 per cent after the homebuilder forecast annual operating profit at the top end of its previous outlook range.

The price of a barrel of oil crashed below $80 for the first time in nearly four months last night.

On another day of turmoil on global commodity markets, Brent crude fell as low as $79.20 having been trading at close to $97 in late September.

Discount retailer B&M has raised full-year profit guidance after reporting a 16.1 per cnet rise in first half core earnings, with the group flagging strong trading momentum.

B&M now expects 2023/24 adjusted earnings before nasties of £620million to £630million pounds, up from £573million last year.

Adjusted EBITDA for its first half was £269million, with revenue up 10.4 per cent to £2.55billion as B&M’s products and prices chimed with consumers in an ongoing cost of living crisis.

‘I am delighted that many of our existing shareholders have been with us since our IPO and continue to see our long-term growth potential.

‘With our new store number guidance (of not less than 1,200 B&M UK stores) and continued LFL growth, we have the runway to at least double our size in the UK in the medium term, while France also offers sizeable long-term potential.’

WH Smith has posted a full-year profit slightly above analysts’ expectations, helped by increased footfall at its stores in transit locations as leisure and business travel rebounded from pandemic lows.

The group posted a headline profit before tax of £143million for the year to 31 August, up 96 per cent from last year, and just ahead of the £142.9million forecast by analysts.

‘This has been another year of significant progress for the Group. Our Travel divisions have all seen strong growth with Travel UK total revenue up 36%, North America up 32% and ROW up 99%, and I am very pleased with the start to the new financial year.

‘Our global travel business is growing in all our key markets. It is highly scalable with multiple medium and long term growth opportunities and we are seeing great results from sharing our expertise and innovation across our different geographies.

‘Our North American business is benefitting from our forensic approach to space management which has always been a key feature of our UK Travel operations. In the same way, the ability of our North American business to provide bespoke retail formats is now being successfully harnessed outside of the US.

‘WHSmith is a highly cash generative business. In 2024, we expect to invest a further £140m which will drive further growth and at the same time we expect our leverage to fall within our target range.

‘These results would not be possible without the extraordinary efforts of our entire team across the globe, and I would like to offer my sincere thanks for their support.’

The UK’s largest chip manufacturing site has been bought by a US firm after its Chinese owner was forced to sell amid a national security row.

Newport Wafer Fab, which makes semiconductors used in cars and smartphones, has been acquired by Seattle-based Vishay Intertechnology in a deal worth £144million.

Oli Creasey, property equity analyst at Quilter Cheviot:

‘Taylor Wimpey released a Q3 trading statement this morning, which paints a picture of resilience in a challenging market.

“The guidance suggests that the company has been able to maintain profit margins at the same level as in H1 2022 (operating profit margin was 1.4%), which is some way below the 20.9% reported in 2022, but still healthy, particularly in the wider context of higher interest rates and their impact on the UK property market.

‘Today’s statement contained no direct information on house prices, but management has pointed to ‘optimised prices’ as a reason for the improved guidance. We estimate that this means similar prices to those achieved in H1 2023, which had actually increased +6.7% YoY, albeit partly driven by a change in mix.

‘Management also noted that cost discipline was a key factor in maintaining profitability, and note that the company has not been buying replacement land plots at the same rate as sales – in the past 12 months, the size of TW’s landbank has shrunk by c.9,000 plots (-4k in the short term landbank, -5k in strategic pipeline). However, with 82k plots still in the short term landbank alone (equivalent to eight years of volume at 2023 rates, or six years at 2022 rates), the company has less need to buy land compared to some peers.

‘Management has noted that the current market backdrop remains uncertain, but are confident in the medium to long term fundamentals of the UK residential property market.’

Taylor Wimpey has warned of ‘significant market uncertainty’, as affordability woes from high mortgage rates dent demand.

However, the homebuilder forecast annual operating profit at the top end of its previous outlook range.

The FTSE 100 builder, which had already forecast operating profits to halve this fiscal year, now expects full-year earnings, including joint ventures, at the top end of its outlook range of £440million to £470million.

This is ahead of market forecasts of £456million pounds.

An investment activist has urged OnTheMarket shareholders to block US-based Co-Star Group’s planned takeover of the London-listed firm.

Writing to ‘shareholders, employees and all UK estate agents’, Brett Stone said the takeover ‘is not in the UK’s national interest’.

He also argues the deal undervalues the group and is ‘likely to result in significantly higher total portal costs for UK estate agents, more than 10,000 of which are small businesses’.

OnTheMarket said in a statement: ‘Similar to OnTheMarket, CoStar believes in fair and sustainable pricing that reflects the value provided by its information and marketplace solutions. CoStar intends to continue charging agent clients a small proportion of Rightmove’s current charges.’

British wine maker Chapel Down is seeking a new listing on the AIM market as part of its ‘ambitious growth plan’, with the group hoping to boost its shares’ liquidity and encourage a wider pool of investors.

Boss Andrew Carter told investors:

‘We are pleased to announce Chapel Down’s plan to admit its shares to trading on AIM, a move which reflects the maturity of the business and the ambitious growth plan we are committed to delivering in the years ahead.

‘Chapel Down has greatly benefitted from its AQSE listing over the past 20 years as it has grown from a start-up in an embryonic industry into England’s leading and largest winemaker with a consistent track record of profitable growth.

‘We believe that a move to AIM will attract a wider pool of investors to participate in Chapel Down’s growth as the leading producer in the world’s newest global wine region and as we continue to pursue our well progressed and fully funded plan to double the size of the business in the five years to 2026.

‘Today’s confirmation of a record 2023 harvest, with tonnage 86% higher than 2022 and 75% higher than the previous record posted in 2018, is creating great excitement within our business, and will underpin our strategic ambition to double the size of the business by 2026 as we continue to build Chapel Down’s position as England’s number one and most celebrated winemaker.’