Majestic moves into the hospitality space with acquisition of Vagabond

The deal saves nine of Vagabond’s wine bars from closure and secures the jobs of 171 Vagabond employees. 

Vagabond’s underperforming bar in Canary Wharf, and its two sites at Gatwick Airport, are not part of the acquisition. 

Majestic says it is ‘committed to invest in the long-term future of the Vagabond business’ and will look to open more wine bars ‘when the right opportunities arise’.

A deal was rumoured to be in the works last month,​​ with Majestic saying at the time it was ‘hopeful of securing a deal’.

Last month it was revealed that the Stephen Finch-founded group was undertaking a restructuring to safeguard its business and had appointed administrators.​​

The London-centric group, which is backed by Imbiba, cited legacy Covid debts combined with other cost pressures and the forced closure of its Heathrow venue as being behind the decision.

In its most recent accounts filed to Companies House for the year ended 27 March 2022, Vagabond reported revenue of £7.4m, which equated to a gross profit of £5.2m.

The loss for the period, after taxation, however, amounted to £859,625.

In January it was reported that Finch had left the group, and documents subsequently filed to Companies House show that he is no longer a person with significant control at the business. 

Majestic says the acquisition of Vagabond will further support its growth strategy by building on its existing customer base and allowing it to engage with a younger demographic of wine consumers. 

Vagabond was founded as a single wine shop in Fulham in 2010 and has since grown into a chain of wine bars focused on ‘discovery and experience’.

Its bars offer more than 100 high-quality wines by the glass, which customers order using tap-and-pour self-serve wine machines. 

“We are delighted to have secured this partnership with Vagabond Wines and are looking forward to working with the team to share our collective passion, expertise and love of wine,” says Majestic CEO John Colley. 

“The completion of this deal marks the start of a long-term partnership and we are committed to investing in the Vagabond business, with the potential to open new wine bars across the UK when the right opportunities arise."

“The combination of the two businesses presents exciting new opportunities for us to grow our customer base, take the Majestic brand to a younger audience and further elevate Vagabond’s product proposition by working alongside our fast-growing on-trade supply division, Majestic Commercial.”