The UK-based urban winery Renegade, located in East London, has initiated a fundraising effort aimed at securing £800,000 to elevate its operations. Founder Warwick Smith revealed that discussions with potential investors have begun, with some commitments already made toward this new funding round.
Since its inception over eight years ago, Renegade expanded in 2021 by launching a new winery, following a successful investment round that yielded £500,000. The latest bid under the UK government’s Enterprise Investment Scheme aims to enhance operations, including hiring key staff and introducing a more affordable sister brand.
Smith highlighted that Renegade has established a name for itself by producing various wine styles directly from grape to glass, using refrigerated trucks for transporting fresh grapes to their facility in Walthamstow. Their wines have even found a place on the lists of Michelin-starred restaurants, alongside running regular events like supper clubs and tastings at their winery and Bethnal Green wine bar.
For the last two years, Renegade has prioritized sourcing grapes exclusively from UK vineyards but might explore reintroducing grapes from European vineyards in the near future. Smith emphasized that urban wineries face significant challenges regarding costs and scalability, which affects pricing. Most of Renegade’s offerings are priced in the mid-£20s range.
Smith stressed the importance of creating wines that offer genuine value to the market. For example, he spoke about the innovative ‘Bethnal Bubbles,’ a dry-hopped English sparkling wine produced using a traditional second fermentation method. Additionally, they craft a Herefordshire-grown English Cabernet Sauvignon rosé, which is barrel-fermented and sourced from polytunnel grapes grown on the Welsh border.
While Smith is keeping the details of this new budget-friendly brand under wraps for now, he aims to position it attractively in the market with a retail price around £14. Renegade’s current bottling capacity stands at about 80,000 bottles, and the winery reported revenues of £1.2 million during the last financial year, up from £912,000 the previous year.
Urban wineries have recently emerged as a growing trend in the UK and the US, with examples like London Cru, which was founded in 2013 and expanded its operations by acquiring a vineyard in southern England in 2023.
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