It’s finally here: The Lay & Wheeler Collection | A New Syndicate From WineFi

The Lay & Wheeler Collection Is Here

This is a big one.

For over 170 years, Lay & Wheeler has worked with collectors to buy, store, sell and enjoy the world’s finest wines.

Now, WineFi and Lay & Wheeler are joining forces to introduce The Lay & Wheeler Collection: a data-driven, expertly-curated wine investment syndicate—now open for early access from just £3,000.

Both WineFi and Lay & Wheeler are members of the Coterie Holdings ecosystem – with Coterie being our largest minority shareholder, and their CEO sitting on our board of directors.

This collection draws together premium allocations from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Champagne, Tuscany and select producers beyond these regions. It is the result of combining WineFi’s rigorous quantitative analysis with Lay & Wheeler’s deep market access and longstanding producer relationships.

This has been in the works for more than a year. Now, it’s finally here.

Why now?

Recent softness in the wine market has created an opportunity to acquire prestigious wines at meaningful discounts to long-term fair value. With findings from our Q2 2025 Wine Market Report suggesting that the market is stabilising, many investors are considering whether to re-enter the market.

By investing via a syndicate, both WineFi and Lay & Wheeler clients can access a diversified, expertly-curated portfolio of fine wine at a fraction of the cost of owning the underlying wines outright. This portfolio is designed with the sole objective of outperforming the fine wine market indices (i.e. Liv-ex 100 and 1000) and capitalise on a recovery.

Key Highlights

• Minimum Investment: £3,000
  

• Historic Return (net of fees): 10.4% CAGR (63.8% absolute over 5 years)
  

• Tax treatment: Capital Gains Tax exempt (UK investors, with Letter of Recommendation provided by third-party tax consultancy)
  

• Regions: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Piedmont, Tuscany, Napa, Rest of World.
  

• Fees: One-off 12.5% (covers 5 years’ storage, insurance & broking – equivalent to 2.5% per annum). Reduced to 10% during the early access period (until 7th August 2025).
  

• Structure: UK bare trust nominee. Underlying portfolio is held in the names of syndicate members.
  

• Anticipated Holding Period: 5 years.
  

• Portfolio Manager: Matthew Small (Head of Investment at WineFi) with support from WineFi’s Investment Committee.
  

• Investment Deadline: Midnight, August 20th 2025
  

Returns are distributed on a rolling basis over the life of the syndicate, with wine sold opportunistically at the point of optimal market value.

Please note that each tranche of this syndicate is limited to 25 members and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.