County Durham’s Lanchester Group has posted a drop in sales and profits following a year in which global disruption, rising interest rates and Ƶ regulation impacted its finances.
Consolidated figures for the year ending June 2024 at the Stanley group – made up of companies including Lanchester Wines, Greencroft Bottling, The Wine Fusion, Spicers of Hythe, Bon Bon’s Wholesale, Lanchester Properties, Spirit & Co and Full Circle Brew Co – show total revenue fell 3% to £143.5m, while Ebitda dropped 9% to £8.8m.
The Lanchester Group, which is owned by Veronica and Tony Cleary, with daughter Caroline also on the board as a senior director, said pressures including global shipping disruption, volatile interest rates and domestic political change proved to be key challenges.
Mr Cleary said: “This year presented significant challenges. While alcohol duty traditionally rises in line with inflation, the Spring Statement 2024 introduced a sharp 20% increase. This was compounded in February 2025 by the Labour Government’s overhaul of the duty system, introducing a highly complex, incremental tax based on every 0.5% of alcohol by volume. As a result, wines above 13% ABV faced a cumulative duty increase of up to 40%.
“This has had a tangible impact on sales, created widespread confusion across the sector, and introduced an extraordinary administrative burden.
“Following missile attacks on cargo vessels in the Red Sea, 22 million litres of wine destined for Greencroft Bottling were delayed at sea for over two months before being rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope. These shipments eventually arrived en masse in late June and early July, creating a bottleneck that disrupted production for over six months.
“The resulting congestion incurred unfair and scandalous demurrage charges, strained warehousing capacity, delayed payments and placed immense pressure on our teams. Despite these setbacks, our staff showed exceptional dedication and professionalism in responding to the crisis.”
Mr Cleary said increased interest rates have also been incurred on borrowing to build Greencroft Two, the group’s new £21m botting facility, which opened in 2024. The 240,000 sqft plant – equivalent to about four football pitches – will more than double the potential capacity at Greencroft Bottling to up to 400m litres per year once all the lines are open, equivalent to around 28% of all wine sold in the Ƶ.
During the year Lanchester Wines secured significant contracts with major retailers and pub groups, while Spicers of Hythe recorded its highest-ever Ebitda at £1.1m, and after a competitive pitch Greencroft Bottling won a contract with one of the leading Australian wine producers
Meanwhile, Full Circle Brew Co, based in Hoult’s Yard in Newcastle, and led by Ben Cleary, marked its fifth anniversary with 26% year on year growth, largely driven by its taproom’s increasing popularity, new event offerings including weddings and a growing national presence. The brewery’s beers, Aviator and Rotator, were launched at Newcastle Airport in early 2024, and a national pub group has since taken on a permanent listing.
Mr Cleary added that increased costs are likely to impact the group this financial year.
He added: “The Lanchester Group now employs around 600 people, and the financial implications of increased National Insurance contributions, higher employer pension requirements and rising Living Wage rates - particularly the widening differentials - are yet to be fully realised. These, combined with the complexity of the revised Alcohol Duty system and the introduction of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) tax, are expected to significantly affect our next financial year.
“It is becoming increasingly challenging to run a business in the Ƶ. In over 45 years of business, I have never experienced a Government so seemingly disconnected from the needs of enterprise.
"The current approach, particularly around Inheritance Tax, is causing deep concern among private and family-owned businesses. Rather than supporting entrepreneurialism and long-term planning, these policies risk undermining the very foundations that many businesses like ours are built upon.”
