DIRECT WINES HOLDINGS LIMITED
Get an alert when DIRECT WINES HOLDINGS LIMITED files next
Leroy will email you the moment a new filing lands at Companies House — one short note per filing, nothing else.
Next accounts due
2027-03-31 (in 10mo)
Last filed for 2025-06-27
Confirmation statement due
2026-11-29 (in 6mo)
Last made up 2025-11-15
Watchouts
None on the register
Cash
£42M
-0.3% vs 2024
Net assets
£64M
-13.4% vs 2024
Employees
914
-5.7% vs 2024
Profit before tax
-£8M
-18.2% vs 2024
Net assets
2-year trend · vs Industrials median
Accounts
2-year trend · latest reflected 2025-06-27
| Metric | Trend | 2024-06-28 | 2025-06-27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Turnover | £307,759,000 | £285,727,000 | |
| Operating profit | -£6,721,000 | -£7,400,000 | |
| Profit before tax | -£6,372,000 | -£7,533,000 | |
| Net profit | -£4,722,000 | -£5,811,000 | |
| Cash | £41,894,000 | £41,776,000 | |
| Total assets less current liabilities | £74,491,000 | £64,057,000 | |
| Net assets | £73,396,000 | £63,564,000 | |
| Equity | £73,396,000 | £63,564,000 | |
| Average employees | 969 | 914 | |
| Wages | £45,645,000 | £39,710,000 |
Values shown as filed in the company's annual accounts. — indicates the figure wasn't present under that line item in that period. About these numbers
Ratios
Computed from the line items above — sparklines read oldest → newest
| Ratio | Trend | 2024-06-28 | 2025-06-27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating margin | -2.2% | -2.6% | |
| Net margin | -1.5% | -2.0% | |
| Return on capital employed | -9.0% | -11.6% | |
| Current ratio | 1.41x | 1.34x | |
| Interest cover | -9.60x | -7.36x |
Margins divide P&L lines by turnover. Gearing is liabilities over total assets. Current ratio is current assets over creditors falling due within one year. Interest cover is operating profit over absolute finance costs. Sector-distribution context coming next.
Audit & accounting basis
- Accounting basis
- FRS 102
- Reporting scope
- Consolidated group
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audit opinion
- Unqualified (clean)
- Going concern
- Affirmed
“The Group has a strong cash position and expects to have sufficient liquidity to meet all its obligations in full including capital expenditure and distributions for the foreseeable future As at 27 June 2025 the Group had undrawn debt facilities amounting to £200m (2024 £200m) and it held £16 7m of net cash and cash equivalents (2024 £293m), in line with expectations Based on the Group's resources, the directors believe that it remains appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basıs”
Group structure
- DIRECT WINES HOLDINGS LIMITED · parent
- Direct Wines Limited 100%
- Averys of Bristol Limited 100%
- Direct Wines Finance Limited 100%
- Direct Wines International Limited 100%
- DW USA Holdings Inc 100%
- SLJ Group Inc 100%
- Archway Partnerships Inc 100%
- Ecosse Services Ltd 100%
- Direct Wines Australia Holdings Pty Ltd 100%
- St Andrew's Vineyard Pty Ltd 100%
- Handcrafted Wines Pty Ltd 100%
- Wine People Pty Ltd 100%
- Direct Wines Source Australia Pty Ltd 100%
- Direct Wines France Holdings SARL 100%
- Bordeaux Direct 1969 SARL 100%
- Direct Wines (Castillon) SARL 100%
- SCI de Colombe 100%
- SCEA L'Enclos Vert 100%
- SCEA du Domaine du Bois 100%
- Direct Wines Cyprus Limited 100%
- Redgrape Business Services Private Limited 100%
- Bordeaux Direct Limited 100%
- Direct Wines (Windsor) Limited 100%
- Laithwaites Limited 100%
- Laithwaites Wine Limited 100%
- Wine Soc of India Private Limited 33.3%
Significant events
- “The financial year reflects a complex trading environment with low consumer confidence, persistent cost-of-living pressures, and significant regulatory change which added considerable cost to the Group.”
- “David Gates was succeeded as Group CEO by Philippa Strub on 1 July 2025, and Célia Pronto-Hussey was appointed as a Non-Executive Director.”
- “Ben Chaffe was appointed to the Board of Directors as Chief Financial Officer on 29 June 2024.”
- “The UK's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme materially impacted financial results, increasing the cost base and administration burden.”
- “Groupwide revenue decreased by 7.2% to £285.7m, resulting in a loss before income tax of £7.5m.”
- “The Tech team successfully completed a multi-year project to upgrade the core ERP system in the UK and USA; rollout to Australia is imminent.”
Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers
People
8 active · 15 resigned
| Name | Role | Appointed | Born | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHAFFE, Benjamin Peter | Director | 2024-06-29 | Aug 1982 | British |
| CLIFFORD-KING, Alison Jane | Director | 2016-08-01 | Jun 1966 | British |
| LAITHWAITE, Henry John Hugh | Director | 2012-07-01 | Sep 1980 | British |
| LAITHWAITE, Thomas Anthony Eric | Director | 2012-07-01 | Aug 1983 | British |
| LAITHWAITE, William Wilson | Director | 2012-07-01 | Mar 1982 | British |
| PORTER, Angus James, Dr | Director | 2010-07-21 | Jun 1957 | British |
| PRONTO-HUSSEY, Celia Maria Teixeira | Director | 2025-07-01 | May 1973 | British,Portuguese |
| STRUB, Philippa Victoria | Director | 2023-12-15 | May 1975 | British |
Show 15 resigned officers
| Name | Role | Appointed | Resigned |
|---|---|---|---|
| STRATFORD, Frederick Anthony | Secretary | 2008-04-23 | 2010-01-29 |
| ALPHA SECRETARIAL LIMITED | Corporate Secretary | 2008-04-23 | 2008-04-23 |
| COOMBS, Edmund Joseph | Director | 2014-06-16 | 2015-03-31 |
| GATES, David Bruce | Director | 2020-09-01 | 2025-10-01 |
| GRAHAM, Teresa Colomba | Director | 2008-09-05 | 2010-03-16 |
| HUMPHREYS, Christopher Andrew | Director | 2010-02-01 | 2014-07-11 |
| LAITHWAITE, Anthony Hugh Gordon | Director | 2008-09-05 | 2024-02-01 |
| LAITHWAITE, Barbara Anne | Director | 2008-09-05 | 2023-03-15 |
| MCMEIKAN, Elizabeth | Director | 2008-09-05 | 2015-01-20 |
| MCMURTRIE, Simon Nicholas | Director | 2008-04-23 | 2015-01-18 |
| STRATFORD, Frederick Anthony | Director | 2008-09-05 | 2010-01-29 |
| THATCHER, David Andrew | Director | 2015-01-19 | 2020-11-02 |
| WEIR, James William Hartland | Director | 2015-03-02 | 2024-06-28 |
| WHITE, Alan | Director | 2013-03-01 | 2016-05-31 |
| ALPHA DIRECT LIMITED | Corporate Director | 2008-04-23 | 2008-04-23 |
Ownership
Persons with significant control
| Name | Kind | Nature of control | Notified | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Btl Family Company Limited | Corporate entity | Shares 50–75%, Voting 50–75%, Appoints directors | 2016-04-06 | Active |
Filing timeline
Last 20 of 99 total filings
| Date | Type | Category | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-10 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2025-12-23 | RP01CS01 | confirmation-statement | Replacement filing of confirmation statement with made up date | |
| 2025-12-08 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2025-10-01 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2025-07-09 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2025-03-20 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-12-18 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2024-12-17 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2024-12-17 | CH01 | officers | Change person director company with change date | |
| 2024-11-19 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2024-11-07 | PSC05 | persons-with-significant-control | Change to a person with significant control | |
| 2024-07-12 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2024-06-28 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2024-03-21 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group | |
| 2024-02-02 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-12-18 | AP01 | officers | Appoint person director company with name date | |
| 2023-11-20 | CS01 | confirmation-statement | Confirmation statement with no updates | |
| 2023-10-19 | MR01 | mortgage | Mortgage create with deed with charge number charge creation date | |
| 2023-05-23 | TM01 | officers | Termination director company with name termination date | |
| 2023-03-15 | AA | accounts | Accounts with accounts type group |
Public-record activity
Raw counts from Companies House — last 12–24 months
- Filings
- 5
- Capital events
- 0
- Officers appointed
- 1
- Officers resigned
- 1
last 12 months
last 24 months
last 12 months
last 12 months
Direct counts from the register. No score, no rating — see the Filing timeline for the underlying events.
Year-on-year
FY2024 → FY2025 · period ending 2025-06-27 vs 2024-06-28
-
Turnover
-7.2%
£307,759,000 £285,727,000
-
Cash
-0.3%
£41,894,000 £41,776,000
-
Net assets
-13.4%
£73,396,000 £63,564,000
-
Employees
-5.7%
969 914
-
Operating profit
-10.1%
-£6,721,000 -£7,400,000
-
Profit before tax
-18.2%
-£6,372,000 -£7,533,000
-
Wages
-13%
£45,645,000 £39,710,000
Each % is (latest − prior) ÷ |prior| for the line item as filed. The comparison is only shown when the latest and prior accounts cover broadly equal-length periods — short or long stubs (typical around incorporation or a year-end change) are suppressed rather than misrepresented. Lines a company doesn't report are omitted. About these numbers