Gusbourne Regulatory News (GUS)

17 January 2024

Gusbourne PLC

("Gusbourne" or the "Company")

Board Changes and Chief Executive Officer Designate Appointment

Gusbourne Plc, (AIM: GUS) the English sparkling wine producer today announces that Jonathan White, has today been appointed as Chief Executive Officer designate, following a rigorous internal and external search process.

Gusbourne is delighted to have promoted internally, with Jonathan having worked at Gusbourne since 2018. Jonathan is currently Marketing Director and during his tenure with the business he has been instrumental in the careful development and global expansion of the Gusbourne brand and establishment of a market-leading cellar door and direct to consumer sales channel. Prior to Gusbourne, Jonathan gained wine industry experience at independent wine distributor Armit Wines and at world-renowned wine and spirits merchant Berry Bros. & Rudd. 

In addition, the Company has reorganised responsibilities across the leadership team. Simon Bradbury will be appointed as Chief Commercial Officer, previously being Global Sales Director. Simon will be responsible for direct to consumer, alongside his existing responsibility for Trade, Corporate and International Sales. Katharine Berry, Group Chief Financial Officer, will take on responsibility for vineyard and wine operations alongside her existing remit covering Finance, HR and IT.

It is intended that both Jonathan and Simon will join the board as executive directors following satisfactory completion of regulatory due diligence by the Company's Nominated Adviser at which stage a further announcement will be made. Mike Paul, who has been Interim Chief Executive Officer for the last five months will resume his role as non-executive director.

Jim Ormonde, Chairman, said:

"The Board are delighted to appoint Jonathan as CEO. In the five and a half years he has worked at Gusbourne, he has shown real passion and commitment to building the Gusbourne brand into one of the UK's most prestigious wine brands. He brings an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the business along with great leadership qualities and significant wine industry experience.

"The Board would like to thank Mike Paul for his wise counsel as Interim CEO and supporting the ongoing strategic progress of the Company."

Enquiries:

Note: This and other press releases are available at the Company's website: www.gusbourneplc.com

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as amended by regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication of this announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain. 

Note to Editors

Gusbourne produces and distributes a range of high quality and award winning vintage English sparkling wines from grapes grown in its own vineyards in Kent and West Sussex.

The Gusbourne business was founded by Andrew Weeber in 2004 with the first vineyard plantings at Appledore in Kent. The first wines were released in 2010 to critical acclaim. Following additional vineyard plantings in 2013 and 2015 in both Kent and West Sussex, Gusbourne now has 93 hectares of mature vineyards. The NEST visitor centre was opened next to the winery in Appledore in 2017, providing tours, tastings and a direct outlet for our wines.

Right from the beginning, Gusbourne's intention has always been to produce the finest English sparkling wines. Starting with carefully chosen sites, we use best practice in establishing and maintaining the vineyards and conduct green harvests to ensure we achieve the highest quality grapes for each vintage. A quest for excellence is at the heart of everything we do. We blind taste hundreds of samples before finalising our blends and even after the wines are bottled, they spend extended time on their lees to add depth and flavour. Once disgorged, extra cork ageing further enhances complexity. Our winemaking process remains traditional, but one that is open to innovation where appropriate. It takes four years to bring a vineyard into full production and a further four years to transform those grapes into Gusbourne's premium sparkling wine.

Gusbourne's luxury brand enjoys premium price positioning and is distributed in the finest establishments both in the UK and abroad. Our wines can be found in leading luxury retailers, restaurants, hotels and stockists, always being aware that where we are says a lot about who we are.