Copestick Murray acquires controlling stake in Slurp Trade

UK drinks producer and distributor Copestick Murray has acquired a controlling stake in Slurp.co.uk from SH Jones, more than four years after the website went into administration.

Copestick Murray completed a deal to acquire a 40% in Slurp last Friday.

Wine retailer SH Jones acquired the assets of Slurp.co.uk in 2013, after the website went into administration.

Speaking to the drinks business in 2013, commercial manager for SH Jones Greg Shaw said that Slurp had been growing its sales and customer base but was unable to trade profitably in the UK.

Four years on, and Copestick Murray has now snapped up the online retailer for an undisclosed sum in a bid to enter the online market.

Slurp is now jointly owned by Copestick Murray, Richard Jones, Hugh Taylor and James Keef.

Hugh Taylor, managing director of Slurp said: “We had gone through the first stage of our 5 year plan – launching a new website and merging hawksheadwines.co.uk as well as re-branding the two SH Jones shops under the Slurp umbrella. We were then looking for capital injection to help us scale the business and establish Slurp as a major premium online UK wine retailer.

“When we discovered that Copestick Murray were looking to enter the UK digital arena it made a lot of sense to for us to have an industry partner and particularly one as innovative and successful as Copestick Murray. With the funding now in place we are really looking to implementing our long term strategy for Slurp.”

Back in May, Copestick Murray to launch entry-level generic red and white ‘house’ blends to its ‘I heart wine’ range in anticipation of prices going up for varietal European wines following the late Spring frosts.

The drinks maker reported a 20% rise in turnover during 2017 according to its annual results, although overall profits were hit hard by the Brexit effect on exchange rates, plummeting by 58% to £283,400.

Robin Copestick, Managing Director of Copestick Murray, who will sit on the board of Slurp, said the deal will allow the distributor to branch into the online retail sector, recovering losses through e-commerce.

“Our plan is for Copestick Murray to become one of the most diverse and successful wine companies in the UK,” he said. “When we heard that Slurp were looking for investment it was very clear that this was an excellent opportunity for us to play a significant part in their future.

Copestick, which has been fully owned by German group Henkell since May 2016, has recently upped its commitment to the on-trade with a new strategic partnership with online drinks distributor Ooberstock, which includes its I heart wine brand, as well as Henkell’s flagship Mionetto Prosecco.