Bridgepoint exits Western Wines

Bridgepoint has sold its stake in Western Wines, the largest independent wine importer and distributor in the UK, in a £133m deal and making more than twice the money invested.

The company, which owns the South African Kumala wine brand, has been purchased by Canada’s Vincor International, the fourth largest wine producer in North America.

The transaction represents the first exit from the €2bn Bridgepoint Europe II, which closed in May 2002. Bridgepoint took an 18% stake for an undisclosed investment in Telford-based Western Wines in September 2002 in a deal totalling £53m.