Australian Vintage has acquired the international ownership rights to MadFish, owned by Burch Family Wines, to help scale the brand globally.
The strategic move to offer a counterpoint in the UK to its flagship McGuigan brand and the two brands will also form a long-term sourcing and processing partnership.
“It provides a scalable – over 200,000 cases – balance to red-wine centric McGuigan and gives the portfolio a much-needed lighter varietal range,” the group said in a stock-exchange filing.
Ownership and distribution rights for MadFish and Howard Park brands in Australia will be maintained by Burch Family Wines.
“Australian Vintage’s global customer relationships, distribution, bottling and network are world class and we are confident they can accelerate both MadFish and Howard Park’s presence across the globe,” said CEO Jeff Burch.
Australian Vintage has also updated its net sales forecast for its new Poco Vino brand from $8 million to $10 million following the confirmation of over 4000 distribution points for its UK launch in July and its Australian launch in October.
The company expects growth for its Lemsecco brand with a production of an additional 80,000 cases to be sold in the next financial year.
The group predicted a decline in group sales by 3 per cent due to a subdued market and a lack of ‘significant innovation’ over this year.
Australian Vintage recorded a 7.4 per cent decline in its revenue to $126.1 million during the first half of this year, with its gross margin at $35.4 million, an 11 per cent drop, as of the end of last year.
Its EBITDA was $11.2 million, following a drop of 22.7 per cent, with a 20 per cent drop in its underlying EBITDA to $13.2 million.
