Introduction - Champagne II

This investment syndicate allows investors to gain exposure to a diversified, expertly-curated portfolio of investment-grade sparkling wines from Champagne. Our analysis shows that wines from Champagne have delivered an impressive 11.97% annual historic return.

As an asset class, fine wine offers investors uncorrelated, attractive risk-adjusted returns and is exempt from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) for UK Residents. The first tranche of this syndicate (Champagne I) has so far delivered 8.67% annualised alpha vs the Liv-ex Champagne 50.

Deal Overview

Why Champagne?

• No Substitute: Champagne holds a unique place in popular culture that is nigh impossible to replace. Crémant, Prosecco, Cava, etc. are all second best in the minds of consumers.

• It’s Now or Never: Climate change is wreaking havoc on the Champagne region to the extent that top vintages (e.g. 2008, 2012) are increasingly viewed as ‘time capsules’ to a bygone era.

• Uncorrelated Returns: Fine wine is almost perfectly uncorrelated to equities, bonds and commodities, and displays more attractive risk-adjusted returns than these traditional asset classes on a Sharpe Ratio basis.

• Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Exemptions: For UK investors, returns are exempt from CGT. Every investor will receive a Letter of Recommendation from a third-party UK tax consultancy that can be shared with their accountant.

• Market Timing: With fine wine prices stabilising, there is an opportunity to acquire sought-after wines at a considerable discount to their October 2022 market highs.

Deal Overview

Key Details

• Permitted Investment: Select producers from Champagne. For a full list of producers in scope, please see the Investment Presentation.

• Minimum Investment: £3,000.

• Historic Return: 12.3% annualised returns achieved by the top quarter of Champagne producers over the last 10 years.

• Structure: UK bare trust nominee, holding the assets on behalf of syndicate members.

• Fees: One-off 12.5% administration fee. Equivalent to 2.5% per annum and including storage, insurance and brokerage at sale.

• Storage: Stored in Coterie Vaults, a condition-controlled, UK government-bonded warehouse, in a ring-fenced account. Insured at full replacement value.

• Anticipated Hold Period: 5 years, with option to extend via a vote.

• Distribution: WineFi will field offers for the underlying wines throughout the anticipated hold period and gradually sell down the portfolio when the time is judged right to maximise returns on a case-by-case basis. Distributions will be paid out pro rata to syndicate members over the lifetime of the syndicate upon sale of the assets.

• Tax Incentives: CGT-exempt for UK tax residents. VAT/Duty exempt.

• Reporting: Investors gain access to the WineFi platform allowing them to see the estimated value of their holdings in real and receive detailed reports on a quarterly basis.

• Exit Channels: Private sale through Coterie Holdings ecosystem, WineFi clients, or on the open market (via Liv-ex or alternate trade sale). The wines will not be listed for auction due to high fees.

Deal Overview

Investing in a WineFi Syndicate

In the UK, fine wine is exempt from CGT. Our bare trust syndicate structure allows investors to take advantage of the tax exemption whilst achieving maximum diversification.

Our Syndicates allow investors maximum diversification into the wine markets at the lowest cost of entry. This allows investors to access an uncorrelated, low volatility asset class at a fraction of the cost of buying the bottles outright.

Investing with WineFi also allows investors to utilise market expertise, and industry advantages off limits to only the largest wine merchants.

We pass on storage advantages through our low fees, and market access as ‘paper alpha’ to our syndicate members. We typically source our syndicates between a 3 and 10% discount to market value, and pass this entire discount to our investors.