Australian wine company Xanadu plans an aggressive expansion in the UK. The company was selling 70,000 cases a year in this country, but this will shoot up to 250,000 by the middle of this year following the integration of the key Normans brands which it acquired last autumn. Normans was one of Australia's largest wine companies when it went into receivership in 2001. Xanadu bought some of its prime assets with the help of its UK distributor Private Liquor Brands which invested cash in the deal. Xanadu's managing director Andrew Moore is forecasting that his company will be selling 500,000 cases a year in the UK by 2005. He said: "Between the new brands and our own Xanadu wines we will have listings in most of the major supermarkets. "In the past the Normans wines did not get any promotional support. "We will be consolidating the range and we will put money behind them which will drive up volumes." PLB has been distributing the Normans ranges Lone Gum, Encounter Bay, the Regional Series and Chais Clarendon for the last four years. It has handled Secession, Xanadu Premium and Lagan Estate from Xanadu for two years. {{DRINKS }}

Topics