The Chapel Down Winery, a UK-based producer of wines and beer, has secured £4.35m through equity funding to expand its winery and beer business.
The funds will be used to expand vineyard acreage in Kent, Sussex and Essex to increase wine production and to construct a new brewery for the production of 'Curious' range of beers.
According to the company, the increase in grape sourcing will help them meet growing demands of their wines and also secure some for the difficult harvest season.
The company is witnessing growth in export business to countries like Japan, Finland, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Holland, Sweden, Finland, Ireland, Canada and France.
Chapel Down supplies wines to many retail stores like Majestic, Morrison's, Marks and Spencer, Waitrose, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols.
According to the company, part of the funds will be used to purchase 30% stake in Curious Drinks, which it does not own.
Around £2.4m of the £4.35m funding was raised by investment firm Hothouse Club, whose founder John Dunsmore will join the Chapel Down board as chairman to look after developmental activities.
Chapel Down CEO Frazer Thompson was quoted by Decanter as saying that the £4.35m raised by the company marked a 'step change' for the business, allowing them to invest in further vineyard acreage and to scale up their beer production by building own brewery.
