Bruichladdich Distribution Agreement

RNS Number : 0335H

Blavod Wines and Spirits PLC

14 June 2013

 

Blavod Wines & Spirits plc

("Blavod" or the "Company")

14 June 2013

Blavod Wines & Spirits plc (AIM:BES), the AIM quoted owner of premium drinks brands, announces that it has ceased to distribute Bruichladdich Distillery Brands in the UK with effect from 1 July 2013.

This cessation is a consequence of Blavod's strategy to end distribution of third party brands so as to focus on the development of its owned brands that include Blavod Original Black Vodka, Blackwood's Gin, Diva, Jago and RedLeg Spiced Rum.

As part of this strategy, the Company announced onMay 31 2013 that it had acquired Blackwood's, the Shetland based distillers of gin and vodka brands, as well as the Diva and Jago brands, and at the same time signed a distribution agreement with leading UK drinks distributors Hi-Spirits Ltd.

In the last financial year ended 31 March 2013, sales net of duty of the Bruichladdich Distillery Brands by Blavod amounted to around £1.0m representing approximately 27% of group sales net of duty. As noted in the 31 May announcement the Company's ongoing cost base has been reduced, reflecting reduced sales and administrative staff and associated direct and indirect overheads.

 Commenting, Don Goulding, Executive Chairman of Blavod said:

"This development is very much in line with us moving away from being a third party distributor and instead focusing all our efforts on the development of our own brands and the newly developed ones such as RedLeg Spiced Rum, which has proved so successful in the UK and overseas. This operational model is far more efficient in terms of the number of people needed within our team and so capable of generating much higher returns for shareholders."

Enquiries:

Blavod Wines & Spirits plc

Don Goulding - Executive Chairman Tel [phone]

SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser)

Neil Baldwin Tel  [phone]

Mark Brady Tel  [phone]

Simple Investments (Broker)

Nick Emerson Tel [phone]

Andy Thacker

Cadogan PR

Alex Walters Tel [phone]

 About Blavod

Blavod Wines & Spirits plc is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. It owns drinks brands in a number of sectors of the alcoholic drinks market. These include premium Vodka, premium Gin and Rum and are called Blavod Original Black Vodka, Blackwood's Vintage Gin, Blackwood's Botanical Vodka, Diva Vodka, Jago's Vodka Vanilla Cream liqueur and RedLeg Spiced Rum. The Company also has global distribution rights for The King of Soho brand.

The Company markets and sells these brands in the UK as well as a number of international markets including the US and Russia.

www.blavoddrinks.com

 

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