RCS - VCL Vintners Ltd - VCL Vintners traded nearly £9m of whisky in 2021

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16/02/2022 11:30

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RNS Number : 8684B  VCL Vintners Ltd  16 February 2022

16 February 2022

 

VCL Vintners forecasts powerful vision of 2022 for the whisky investment
industry, after shaking up 2021

Brokerage reports trades in whisky of nearly £9m in 2021

 

VCL Vintners, London's leading whisky cask broker among millennial investors,
reports a 16% increase on the total value of casks brokered in the last 12
months, having facilitated close to £9 million worth of trades in fine
single-malt whisky casks between January 2021 to January 2022. So far this
year alone, the brokerage also reports it has facilitated trades of whisky
casks totalling over £2.2 million.

 

Volatile markets and inflationary pressures have encouraged an increasing
number of investors of all ages and levels of experience to diversify their
portfolios. As the brokerage has continued to acquire a greater share of the
whisky cask market, clients have been flooding the switchboards and VCL
Vintner's digital onboarding systems, in search of the valuable shelter
offered by the steady performance of whisky casks as a reliable alternative
asset.

 

Year on year, VCL Vintner's client base increased by an additional 45%.
Currently, over 60% of the brokerage's clients are under the age of 45, with
nearly a quarter aged between 25 and 34 years old.

 

In 2021, the most expensive casks sold by VCL Vintners were from the Macallan,
Bunnahabhain, Bruichladich, Dalmore, Aultmore, and Ben Nevis distilleries. VCL
Vintners does brisk trade in casks valued between £30,000 and £60,000, but
has also dealt in stand-out, rare casks worth over £250,000.

 

The brokerage's dominant acquisition of market share in 2021 was facilitated
by key partnerships with younger distilleries, expansion into the Asian
markets, and innovations within digital financial technologies.

 

March 2021 saw an exciting collaboration with the award-winning Annandale
distillery in Southern Scotland. The five-year deal of exclusivity entitled
VCL Vintners to half of Annandale's output each year for sale to investors,
amounting to 276,000 litres of single cask single malt whisky. In a market
that has traditionally been closed off to outsiders and newcomers, this
partnership was a sign of strategic commitment from VCL Vintners to stay up to
date with the latest and best casks available for investment for their
clients.

 

2021 was also a big year for expansion into the Asian market. Throughout the
pandemic, VCL Vintners saw an increase in high-end investors based in
Southeastern Asian buying into whisky, anticipating the upturn in the market
following the vaccine rollout and lifting of restrictions. In Q3 of 2021, 25%
of new accounts opened were from investors based in Japan.

 

In October 2021, VCL Vintners collaborated with Metacask, the digital
marketplace for whisky NFTs and broke a world record in whisky cask
investment. Leading NFT artist, Trevor Jones, was commissioned to produce an
NFT artwork called the 'Angel's Share' which was backed by a Macallan 1991
cask for the record-breaking price of $2.33 million. As opposed to a
photograph of the cask to represent the item, the overseas buyer received
Trevor's abstract digital representation.

 

In December 2021, the brokerage released a limited run of own independent
bottling line of new fill spirits. The company advises that new fill spirits
are the perfect entry point for novice or casual whisky investors, as well as
the perfect treat for whisky drinkers.

 

The independent bottlings consisted of a limited release of bottles. A
Highland and Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky distilled at Royal Brackla and
Benriach Distilleries. Both spirits were aged 9 years and finished in octaves:
the Highland Single Malt in a port cask and the Speyside Single Malt in a
sherry one. They both sold out in under 48 hours.

 

Benjamin Lancaster, co-founder and director at VCL Vintners, commented on VCL
Vintner's extraordinary year: "The tide changed in 2021. The floodgates opened
in the first few weeks of 2022. The numerous successful projects undertaken
over the past year have laid the groundwork for an expansive 2022. This year,
we look forward to continuing our work to open the whisky investment space to
a dynamic new audience and to seasoned investors seeking shelter during
turbulent times in the markets. The numbers speak for themselves; the
increasing value of our casks, alongside the refreshingly youthful demographic
of our clientele, forecasts a growing, powerful vision for the industry."

 

-ENDS-

 

About VCL Vintners

 

Founded in 2010, VCL Vintners source and manage the finest investment-grade
single malt whisky casks for their network of retail and institutional
investors.

 

VCL Vintners provides investment opportunities ranging from new-fill barrels
to some of the oldest and rarest casks available. With assets under management
currently totalling around GBP 70 million, VCL Vintners is on track to corner
a significant amount of the whisky market's total reserves, targeting an
additional managed amount of GBP 150 million within the next decade.

 

Whisky is now one of the globe's best-performing asset classes, with both
prices and demand continuing to grow at a double-digit rate. However, despite
these ten-fold increases and interest from new investors, investment-grade
whisky's reputation for running on relationship-based acquisitions can make it
somewhat difficult to enter. VCL Vintners' expert advice assists clients at
all stages of their investment journey, allowing investment in a range of
whisky options, from sought-after individual bottles to entire casks.

 

https://vclvintners.london (https://vclvintners.london)

 

Yellow Jersey PR

Emma Becirovic, Senior Account Manager

E: emma@yellowjerseypr.com (mailto:emma@yellowjerseypr.com)

Tel: +44 (0)7964 695 277

 

 

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