Venus Wine & Spirit Merchants plc has been acquired by Booker Group Ltd., a subsidiary of Tesco plc

June 2024 — The shareholders of Venus Wine & Spirit Merchants plc have sold the company to Booker Group Ltd., a subsidiary of Tesco plc. The move allows the Tesco subsidiary to bolster its on-trade portfolio through the addition of Venus’ range of over 2,000 spirits, beers, wines and soft drinks.

Founded in 1975, Venus Wine and Spirits Merchants plc is an independent wine distributor with over 140 employees based in the UK. The company provides a reliable and consistent supply with competitive prices, offering a wide product range that includes over 2,000 spirits, a large selection of wines, champagnes and soft drinks, alongside craft, keg and packaged lagers, ciders and ales. It has distribution depots in London and Leeds and manages its own fleet.

Booker Group Ltd. is a market leading wholesale provider based in the UK. It is a subsidiary of Tesco plc. The company supplies approximately 1.5 million businesses across the UK through their national network of distribution centers, cash and carry branches and Best Food Logistics sites.

Our role in the transaction

Oaklins Cavendish, based in the UK, advised the shareholders of Venus Wine and Spirits Merchants plc on the sale of the business to Booker Group Ltd.

Service

M&A sell-side

Parties

“From all of the shareholders at Venus, we would like to say a huge thank you to the team at Oaklins Cavendish for advising us on this successful sale to Tesco/Booker – we believe that under their new ownership, the business will continue to thrive. The expertise, hard work and tenacity we got from the Oaklins Cavendish team was excellent and we are delighted with the outcome. We would certainly recommend the Oaklins Cavendish team to other business founders and owners.”

Laki Christoforou

CEO, Venus Wine & Spirit Merchants plc

Talk to the deal team

Peter Gray

Partner

London, United Kingdom
Oaklins Cavendish

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Stephen Nemeth

Director

London, United Kingdom
Oaklins Cavendish

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