Darlington Wines bought by Champagne Indage

Ranjit S Chougule, CIL managing director, said the acquisition - as reported in Harpers on May 2 - would allow the company to scale its growth.

He added: "The consolidated assets will give us a large scale route to market efficiency in a price competitive market such as the UK, not to mention the positive relationships with large institutional buyers."

Corby Bottlers, the production and bottling facility from Darlington Wines, was seen as an attractive asset in the acquisition given its links with a number of major UK supermarkets including Sainsbury's.

"It will undoubtedly drive greater value immediately for our key stakeholders, including our end consumers," concluded Chougule.