Major UK online wine retailer

Virgin Wines works with its network of trusted suppliers and winemaking partners from around the world to source, design, blend and sell award-winning and largely exclusive premium wines.

These wines are sold through its WineBank and Wine Plan subscription schemes and on a pay-as-you-go basis.

The Group also operates B2B and gift sales channels and recently expanded its product offering to include carefully curated collections of premium spirits and craft beers. We invested £8.7m in Virgin Wines in 2013.

Investment rationale

We supported the Initial Public Offering of Virgin Wines on AIM. The offering was substantially oversubscribed, attracting strong interest from quality institutional investors.

Virgin Wines now has the platform to execute its ambitious growth plans, as it leverages key strengths to continue to win market share and drive shareholder value.

Investment team

Clive Austin

Managing Director, VCT Portfolio

Clive has worked in the private equity industry since 1995, making investments including TeleCity and Kerridge Commercial Systems. Clive joined as part of the Mobeus VCTs team in 2021 and heads up VCT portfolio management across our VCT stable, sits on the Investment Committee and has responsibility for the portfolio valuations processes.

He is an investment management specialist with experience across a wide variety of sectors and stages of company development. He has been working in the VCT industry since 2008 with previous experience including running his own business and as a Director of NVM Private Equity, Catapult Venture Managers and 3i plc.

I’ve always considered what I do as a great privilege. Not only is it great fun, it’s also fascinating and the stakes are high.  We get involved with a wide variety of interesting businesses and people at critical points in their development with potentially life changing consequences – what job could be better than that?

Having specialised in portfolio management, Clive has acted as non-executive director and Chairman of a wide range of private equity backed businesses such as Virgin Wines, Entanet and Equip Outdoor Technologies. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Applied Physics & Electronics, a DipM from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and an MBA.

Outside of work Clive can either be found competing in single seater racing cars, tinkering with classic cars or running / cycling around his native Teme Valley in Worcestershire.

Example portfolio

Ed Wass

Director of VCT Portfolio

Ed brings over 20 years’ experience of helping SMEs to create and realise shareholder value to his role. He has been working with our management teams since 2017 to help them achieve their ambitions for growth and has overseen several notable exits in that time, including Automated Systems Group, Access-IS and Auction Technology Group. He also led the successful IPO of Virgin Wines in 2021.

It is a pleasure to work with so many great businesses and fantastic management teams.  It is a real privilege to be involved in the growth of the exciting companies that Gresham House invests in and to contribute to their ongoing success.

Ed is on the board of several businesses, including Virgin Wines, RotaGeek, Airfinity and Vivacity Labs. His previous roles include CIO at Catapult Ventures and at PwC in both Assurance and Business Recovery Services.

Ed was named as one of Real Deals’ Future 40 Investment Leaders in April 2021.

He holds a BA (Hons) in Ancient History and is a Chartered Accountant (ICAEW).

Outside of work Ed enjoys spending time with his family and whenever possible chasing after a ball of some description (cricket, golf, tennis and fives) – sometimes these happen together.

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Greg Blin

Investment Partner

Greg sources and executes investments into fast-growing businesses and is our resident consumer expert. He combines a natural flair for understanding the drivers of brand value, insight into wider market dynamics and strong corporate finance experience.

I first got into growth investing because it has afforded me the opportunity to work and build relationships with some incredibly talented entrepreneurs and ambitious management teams to support them on their growth journey.

Greg joined Gresham House Ventures in 2021 and has been part of the Mobeus VCTs team since 2013.

Previous investments and Board positions include Virgin Wines, MPB, Rotageek and Buster + Punch.

Greg’s previous roles include investments at Piper Private Equity and Corporate Finance at PwC. He holds a BA/ ACC in Business Studies and Accounting and is a Chartered Accountant (ICAS).

Outside of work, Greg enjoys a range of sports including golf, tennis and skiing, would secretly love to be a DJ, and has a passion for travel.

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