Fine Wine Newsflash – Goedhuis & Co and Waddesdon Wine Announce Merger
EMBARGOED: 12PM 3 NOVEMBER 2023
Goedhuis & Co and Waddesdon Wine Announce Merger to Form Goedhuis Waddesdon
Goedhuis & Co and Waddesdon Wine are pleased to announce they have signed an agreement to merge, effective from 3 November 2023. Both companies will initially continue to trade under their existing names while the two businesses are fully integrated, to ensure no disruption to clients or suppliers.
The new entity, Goedhuis Waddesdon Limited, is poised to become a formidable presence in the wine industry, uniting exceptional wine expertise, prestigious portfolios and first-class levels of service to create an unparalleled destination for wine collectors, retailers and hospitality businesses seeking to elevate their standards of wine excellence.
Goedhuis & Co is a distinguished, multi-award-winning fine wine merchant with over four decades of experience, celebrated for its expertise in all the great wine regions, with a particular focus on Burgundy and Bordeaux. Goedhuis & Co has received acclaim for its exceptional wine knowledge, demonstrated by its recent victories at both the 2022 Decanter Retailer Awards and IWC Merchant Awards, where the company won hat-tricks in the Burgundy, Bordeaux and En Primeur categories. Their newly acquired subsidiary Private Reserves Limited offers impeccable fine wine storage in Octavian Corsham.
Waddesdon Wine, a subsidiary of the Rothschild Foundation, represents wines from Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite and Edmond de Rothschild Heritage exclusively within the UK. Waddesdon Wine also represents Hundred Acre and collaborates closely with esteemed wineries including Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Baron Arques as well as Henri Bourgeois and Penfolds. Waddesdon Wine has successfully marketed these prestigious wines to trade clients, premium retailers, Mayfair restaurants and hotels, and national restaurant groups over the last two decades. Customers include Harrods, Selfridges, Waitrose Cellar and Marks & Spencer.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild will retain a minority shareholding in the newly merged Goedhuis Waddesdon Limited. Saskia de Rothschild, Chairwoman of Lafite remarked; “We’ve long admired the integrity and buying knowledge of the Goedhuis & Co team. Bringing the two companies together is an excellent long-term move.”
Johnny Goedhuis, who founded Goedhuis & Co in 1981 will serve as Chairman and ambassador of the new company. The strategic goal of this partnership is for Goedhuis Waddesdon to accelerate its expansion while remaining dedicated to offering the finest wines at competitive prices with exceptional customer service. Johnny Goedhuis remarked, “This is a hugely exciting merger between two great companies. Both Goedhuis and Waddesdon share an ethos of delivering the highest level of service to sell the best wines at every price point. What makes this deal so special is the combination of Waddesdon’s extensive reach in the on-trade and their unique relationships with leading Bordeaux chateaux, with Goedhuis’ private client expertise and our extensive contacts in
Burgundy and Italy. This creates a truly complementary business, ensuring all clients of Goedhuis Waddesdon benefit from an even broader range of wines of the very highest quality. We are delighted to be joining forces with their great team and look forward to a shared future as a thrilling home for premium wineries and their clients.”
Lord Rothschild adds “We are pleased to unite Goedhuis & Co with Waddesdon Wine as their impressive private client business and the unrivalled experience of the Goedhuis & Co team will be a perfect partner to Waddesdon Wine’s deep understanding of Rothschild wines. Waddesdon Wine, based at Waddesdon Manor and in London offers great wines to a wide market. This venture marks a new chapter for Waddesdon as well as complementing its newly refurbished wine cellars.”
Goedhuis Waddesdon’s headquarters will be in London Bridge and at the Rothschild estate, Waddesdon Manor which has recently opened its newly renovated cellars which houses the largest collections of Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Mouton Rothschild outside of Bordeaux.
For more information please contact:
Waddesdon Wine Press and Marketing Contact:
Sarah Harrison | sarah.harrison@waddesdonwine.co.uk
Goedhuis & Co Press & Marketing Contact:
Elizabeth Sprake | es@goedhuis.com
Notes to Editors:
Cavendish Financial PLC acted as the advisor to the transaction, led by Lord Leigh of Hurley, Rebecca McCredie and Tom Holland-Hibbert.
About Goedhuis & Co:
Goedhuis & Co is an award-winning team of specialist fine wine merchants, delivering exceptional personal service to help fellow wine lovers buy and enjoy wine from Burgundy, Bordeaux and the rest of the world.
Goedhuis & Co was founded by chairman Johnny Goedhuis in 1981. Its head office is in Central London with a subsidiary storage business, Private Reserves Ltd., based in Northamptonshire. In 2008 Goedhuis & Co. opened its first international office in Hong Kong to service the growing interest in fine wine from the Asian market. Clients are principally private individuals, as well as organisations as diverse as livery companies, private members’ clubs, restaurants and other members of the fine wine trade.
Goedhuis & Co is committed to discovering and promoting unheralded producers from all around the world as well as working with the most famous established estates’ First Growth Clarets and Grand Cru Burgundies. This approach ensures continual sourcing of the very best wines from the very best vintages and constant development of the range of everyday wines which offer both exceptionally delicious drinking and value that rivals the high street.
About Waddesdon Wine:
Established for over 20 years, Waddesdon Wine was founded to represent the three wine-producing branches of the Rothschild family within the UK. It has now grown to represent a number of other prestigious family-owned estates around the world. All of Waddesdon Wine’s partner wineries share a vision of producing the very best wines, while remaining family-run and true to their heritage and traditions.
With the backdrop of a 19th-century Château in the Buckinghamshire countryside, Waddesdon Wine couples the rich culture of our wineries with a diverse and long-established knowledge of the UK wine market. Its portfolio consists of wines to suit every occasion, taste profile and price point.
Waddesdon Wine’s key wineries are exclusive to Waddesdon Wine and come with the guarantee of provenance, exceptional quality and the first-class service levels that have made its name.
