WineFi, the wine investment fintech which offers investors a data-driven approach to investing in fine wine, has raised a £1.5m seed round. The round, led by Coterie Holdings, one of the industry’s largest and most prestigious wine groups, is a significant landmark for what has been until now a fragmented industry.
WineFi’s raise also incorporated a crowdfund and saw a number of high profile angels join the company’s cap table, as well as existing VC investors SFC Capital and Founders Capital quietly increase their shareholding.
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Founded by Oliver Thorpe and Callum Woodcock, who started his career at investment managers Fidelity International and J.P. Morgan Asset Management, WineFi’s raise comes at a time when the global economy is in flux and investors are fleeing equity markets in search of exposure to diversification away from mainstream assets.
This is a pattern which has seen high net worth investors and family offices look to diversify their portfolios and gain exposure to selections of fine wines. This follows another trend, which in recent years has seen the same investors buy exposure to other collectibles like whisky, fine art and classic cars.
Building fine wine portfolios
WineFi’s raise is a major landmark for a fragmented industry that has until now been dominated by standalone investment advisory firms operating without comprehensive data models or an ecosystem to assess and manage broad portfolios in one place. WineFi’s approach combines detailed quantitative analysis and deep domain expertise by hands-on industry experts to guide high net worth investors and family offices in the best approaches to building fine wine portfolios.
For high-net-worths and those looking to educate themselves, WineFi also allows individuals to co-invest in diversified, expertly curated wine portfolios using their syndicate structure, with minimum investments of as little as £3,000.
For experienced investors and wine enthusiasts alike, WineFi is rapidly enabling investment education in an asset class that until now has lacked the professionalism and data-driven analysis that investors expect of a traditional asset manager.
“The fine wine investment space has historically been split between wine merchants that are set up to facilitate drinking and collecting rather than investing, and bespoke investment businesses that often operate like merchants with added management fees,” said Callum Woodcock.
Woodcock said he created WineFi to serve investors who view wine primarily through an investment lens, offering them diversified, cost-efficient exposure to an asset class that has historically remained off-limits to all but specialists. While many of WineFi’s investors are also wine enthusiasts, the venture seeks to bridge the gap between the two.
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Wine can be exempt from UK capital gains tax
In the current economic climate where interest in collectibles is rising, fine wine is fast emerging as a compelling alternative asset, and which notably is exempt from capital gains tax in many cases, adding to its appeal for diversification-focused investors.
“Most of our clients are either high net worth individuals or high earners looking to allocate 2-10% of their portfolio to racier alternatives, whether it’s collectibles like fine wine or illiquid alts like early stage startups” Woodcock explained. “And, especially given the unpredictable nature of traditional investment havens like the S&P500 and even supposedly safe havens like US Treasuries, we’re increasingly seeing customers move into wine for diversified returns.”
WineFi’s business model includes transparent pricing and an upfront fee equivalent to 2.5% per annum that covers storage, insurance, and uniquely, brokerage at sale. This structure eliminates the typical 10% merchant commission when wines are sold to give investors a better deal.
The company offers both syndicated investments for individual investors and bespoke portfolio services for family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals who prefer direct ownership of their wine assets.
Speaking on behalf of Coterie Holdings, CEO Michael Saunders, who has been a member of the board since February 2024 and brings 40 years of industry experience to WineFi, said:
“The wine investment model hasn’t changed significantly in decades. WineFi’s fresh approach combines deep wine expertise with modern financial tools to make this historically compelling asset class more accessible to sophisticated investors. Callum’s razor focus on transparency and the company’s use of data and technology is going to give them an outlier competitive advantage in this growing market.”
Go-to solution for wine investors
WineFi confirmed the new funds will be used to fuel growth and further expand its rapidly growing team as it sets its sights on becoming the go-to solution for investors seeking to access fine wine as an asset class.
As part of this drive, WineFi is seeking to further develop industry fiduciary standards – soliciting third-party audits for everything from client asset segregation, valuation accuracy reviews, portfolio management practices, and ‘conflicts of interest’ policies.
“It shouldn’t be a matter of us having to say ‘trust us’” explains WineFi’s Operations Director Oliver Thorpe. “We’re not letting the wine investment space get away with that laissez-faire attitude any more. To win, WineFi needs to raise the bar”.
McKinsey predicts that 30% of all global capital will be invested in alternative assets over the next five years – a $2-3 trillion shift. As the first mover in this space, WineFi looks well-positioned to capitalise on growing demand for returns less correlated to equity, bond and commodities markets.
