This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Conviviality, the company behind high street off-licence chains Wine Rack and Bargain Booze, is on the brink of collapse, putting 2,600 jobs at risk and prompting warnings that pubs could run dry. The firm said in a stock market statement on Thursday: “The directors intend to allow the business to continue to trade and the company continues to work alongside advisers in order to preserve as much value as possible for all stakeholders as it explores a number of inbound enquiries regarding a potential sale of all or parts of the business.”

Conviviality supplies more than 700 off-licences and more than 23,000 pubs and restaurants including the JD Wetherspoon chain. According to the company’s most recent annual report published last August, Conviviality employs more than 2,600 people and has more than 700 retail stores trading primarily as Bargain Booze, Select Convenience and Wine Rack, alongside 352 franchises. The trade body for the UK’s pubs, more than 20,000 of which are supplied by the company’s Matthew Clark distribution division, warned many could now face “short-term supply issues”.
Conviviality PLC, owner of Wine Rack and Bargain Booze, announces it has been refused investment to stave off bankruptcy and will likely enter administration.