Majestic Wine owner draws up sale plans

The potential sale is at an early stage at present and it may be some time before any formal process is launched, but Rothschild is being lined up to handle it, Sky News has reported.

Fortress originally bought Majestic for £95m. Since then, the retailer, which has around 200 branches and 1,000 employees, has been transformed through initiatives such as the acquisition of wine bar business Vagabond and distributor Enotria. 

At the start of this year, Majestic Wine reported that it had achieved its best-ever Christmas trading performance. The retailer said it had served 11% more customers over the peak period than it had in the previous comparable period.

Majestic’s total sales were ahead 0.9% in the five weeks to December 29, 2025, as it outperformed a wider retail alcohol market that declined 4.1% during December.

Executive chair John Colley said then: “We’re heading into 2026 with good momentum and confidence that our strategic plan will continue to deliver growth across the group.”

It is thought that if a sale process is launched, it may not be until early next year, and it is unclear what sort of price Fortress would hope to attract.

Consideration of a sale comes amid difficult economic conditions, worsened by inflationary fears following the outbreak of war in the Middle East and any resulting impact on consumers’ spending power.