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Coterie Holdings eyes up superyacht sector with strategic acquisition
Fine wine company Coterie Holdings is looking to broaden its market footprint and diversify its offer with the acquisition of Global Wine Solutions, a leading provider of fine wine and spirits to the superyacht industry.
The strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for both organisations, the company said, “enhancing their combined ability to deliver exceptional quality, expertise and innovation across the global wine supply chain”. This will include creating new opportunities for growth, as well as improved operational efficiency alongside “the ability to meet the evolving demands of global wine consumers with a notable impact on the high-net-worth customer, most immediately in the exciting and growing Superyacht sector”, a statement said.
Although Global Wine Solutions will be able to leverage Coterie Holdings network, resources and market expertise to expand its reach and the services it offers high-net worth clients, it will continue to operate under its existing brand under its founder and CEO, Liam Steevenson MW and its current leadership team.
Michael Saunders, CEO of Coterie Holdings, called Global Wine Solutions “a natural fit for Coterie Holdings”, noting their expertise in sourcing and distributing fine wines and spirits to very specific customer sectors, which “aligns perfectly with our vision for growth and delivering excellence across the industry”.
He also spoke warmly of his 20-year relationship with Steevenson. “I have watched him innovate and execute consistently within the constraints of a normally traditional industry, so to bring him into the team, along with his obvious wine knowledge is incredibly exciting for all of us,” he said.
Meanwhile Steevenson said he was thrilled to become part of the Coterie Holdings family.
“This partnership brings together two organisations with a shared passion for excellence and innovation in the wine industry. Working alongside the incredibly talented Lay & Wheeler team and with the resource that Coterie Vaults offers us and our client base, dramatically enhances our capabilities, helping us continue to deliver outstanding solutions to our customers,” he said.
Coterie Holdings is the holding company for fine wine merchant Lay & Wheeler, Coterie Vaults, fine wine valuation and lending specialists Jera and UK wine importer Hallgarten & Novum Wines, which is acquired in December 2023. Drinks industry veteran Saunders, who joined Coterie Holdings as CEO in January 2024 revealed Coterie’s ambitious plans to grow the business internationally to the drinks business in June, as it aims to become a “repository of fine wine data”.
He argued that the “uniform view” within the industry was that the wine trade needs something different to happen “because it had been quite static”, and because Coterie covers a number of interlocking touch points, it has the potential to do this.
Saunders also spoke in the interview about the importance of having “people who know the industry, that really lead the industry” in your organisation “because our industry is not just intellectual, it’s relationships both ways, to the customer and to the supplier. Ignore that at your peril”.
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