Conviviality boss says Brexit won't impact future growth

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 20 July, 2016

The CEO of wholesale giant Convivality has said that the rapidly expanding business is well placed to avoid the sting of the Brexit beehive.

The CEO of wholesale giant Convivality has said that the business is well placed to avoid the sting of the Brexit beehive.

The expansion of the company to acquire Matthew Clark and Bibendum PLB has been seismic, backed up by stellar annual results revealing a skyrocket in sales.

Equally seismic however, is the impact of the EU referendum result.

With Conviviality's most recent sales figures reflecting a market in which a UK departure was still seen as unlikely, it would be possible to understand if there were concerns about the future ramifications of Article 50 given the rapid expansion of the group.

But Convivality CEO Diana Hunter isn't concerned.

"We will continue to keep our eye on market, but I believe Brexit won't impact our plans. We're in a very strong position to thrive in uncertain economic times. Also we're not overly exposed to the Euro. We also offer a fantastic balance across old and new world wines which can really help customers," she said.

The first annual results since the Matthew Clark acquisition released on Monday show that revenue was up 137% to £864.5m (FY15: £364.1m) for the 53 weeks to May 1, 2016, thanks largely to the acquisition of the alcohol supplier in October.

Following the acquisition of Bibendum PLB for £60m deal in May, Conviviality is now the leading independent wholesaler and distributor of alcohol in the UK.

Speaking to Harpers on Monday, hunter also revealed that the buying team has been simplified across all Conviviality's channels to make it easier for clients to know who to approach.

Taking the company forward into a post-Brexit future are Andrew Shaw, who becomes the new group wine buying director, Steve Jebson, now commercial director of Conviviality Direct, and Kenton Burchell, commercial director Conviviality Retail.

Hunter explained that the expansion of the group has allowed staff to move sideways across the different sections of the business - and that integration will continue to be a priority going forward.

"We're delighted with the talent we've got across the board. Our strategy now is to continue to delight our customers and support the various teams to grow the business."

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