Winebuyers

Winebuyers Limited retained Hilco Streambank to run a sales and marketing process with respect to its business and intellectual property assets, including the sleek and stylish Winebuyers brand, e-commerce platform and website content, domain names, customer data and social media assets, ahead of the appointment of an insolvency practitioner to the Company.

Launched in May 2018, Winebuyers’ disruptive online wine & champagne club and e-commerce platform was conceived in response to the wine trade’s slow uptake of e-commerce, which saw Winebuyers become one of the largest online shops, providing access to an unrivalled collection of over 50,000 products sourced from over 40 countries.

The Winebuyers brand and website established a loyal customer following across the UK and internationally. Winebuyers emphasised the importance of customer engagement, bolstering its membership base through planned events, competitions, social media influencers and newsletters. Winebuyers cultivated its consumer base through its exclusive online wine club, providing regular blogs, monthly newsletters, special offers and recommendations by leading wine specialists.

Hilco Streambank commenced a comprehensive sales and marketing exercise. We distributed sales and marketing correspondence to several thousand potentially interested parties internationally, including the Hilco Streambank Europe and United States-based teams’ relevant contacts and a bespoke database of potentially interested parties identified through our market research. The opportunity was also broadcast on the Hilco Streambank website, with extensive social media marketing carried out across various Hilco channels. Hilco populated a virtual data room and assisted interest parties with their due diligence enquires.

The opportunity aroused international interest in the business and assets. The Hilco team effectively managed the resulting competitive bidding process, assisting the Liquidator and culminating in a deal closing in April 2021. Deal terms have not been disclosed.

Despite the economic challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, demand has persisted for certain intellectual property assets, presenting an excellent opportunity for savvy buyers and shrewd sellers alike.

“The Hilco Streambank team worked tirelessly to promote interest in the Winebuyers opportunity, with an exceptionally high level of initial enquires from parties across the globe. This ultimately resulted in six offers being received from a diverse range of bidders with a sale successfully completing on 1st April 2021”. – Andy Pear, Liquidator, BM Advisory

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