Majestic Wine said to explore sale of UK retail and commercial operations

Majestic Wine was said on Tuesday to be exploring a sale of its entire UK retail portfolio as it shifts its focus to the online business, Naked Wines.

According to Sky News, the company has appointed bankers at Rothschild to look for potential buyers for its retail and commercial operations. Sky cited City sources as saying that private equity firms have been contacted in the last fortnight to gauge their appetite for a potential acquisition.

Back in March, Majestic said it was rebranding under the name Naked Wines as part of a plan to focus on its online business and release capital from its retail and commercial arms.

The company said at the time that it was planning to accelerate new customer investment in Naked by an additional £6m a year to £26m in FY20, funded by asset sales and store closures.

It pointed out that since its acquisition of Naked in April 2015, the business has more than doubled in size, with sales expected to exceed £175m this year. It also highlighted the fact online sales now account for 45% of revenues, while the international segment accounts for 20%.