Chapel Down : boss to step down after 20 years at helm
August 02, 2021 at 10:31 am EDT
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England’s biggest winemaker Chapel Down is preparing for a leadership shift as it announced today chief executive Frazer Thompson will retire next month.
Andrew Carter, currently managing director at Chase Distillery, a vodka and gin producer set up by the owner of Tyrrells crisps, will succeed Thompson on 13 September.
The designated CEO said he looks forward to leading Chapel Down to deliver the next stage of transformational growth.
Chapel Down chairman Martin Glenn said Carter has a great track record in building wines and spirits businesses, adding his joining can drive the company’s growth further.
Glenn also praised Thompson for “building Chapel Down into England’s biggest wine business and has helped put English wine on the map.”
Thompson, who will remain a substantial shareholder and advisor at Chapel Down after his retirement, said now is the ideal time for the company to introduce some fresh energy.
“He [Carter] brings a wealth of drinks experience and has the talent and energy to lead a fantastic team to new heights,” he said.
Chapel Down, which makes wine at its vineyards in Kent, announced in June to launch a new crowdfunding campaign in a bid to raise nearly £7m to help continue its growth.
The firm had seen its wine sales up over a third over the last year amid the lockdown, but this was not enough to stop it from falling to a £7.9m full-year loss.
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Chapel Down Group Plc is a wine producer with a range of sparkling and still wines, grown in the chalky terroir of the North Downs of Kent. The Company is engaged in the production and sale of alcoholic beverages. It owns vineyards in England, primarily situated on the North Downs of Kent with a terroir similar to that of Champagne. It offers a range of sparkling wines, still wines, white wines, rose wines, red wine, mixed cases, gin, vodka, English aperitif and cocktail sets. Its range of sparkling wine include Brut NV, English Rose NV, Bacchus 2021, English Sparkling Intro Case, Rose Brut NV, Three Graces 2016, and others. The Company offers a range of still wine, including Flint Dry 2021, Bacchus 2021, English Rose 2021, Kit's Coty Bacchus 2020, Kit's Coty Estate Chardonnay 2020, Discovery Series Tenterden Estate Bacchus 2020, Discovery Series Pinot Blanc 2018, and Discovery Series Pinot Noir Rose 2020. It also offers gift boxed bottles, magnums and jeroboams and accessories.