Chapel Down - sales bubble up 19% as US and premium wine pour on growth
English winemaker Chapel Down (AIM:CDGP) has reported double-digit growth in sales for the six months to 30th June 2026. Growth was experienced across all channels of the business, resulting in net sales revenue rising by 19% to £9.4 million, in line with management expectations.
With over 1,000 acres of vineyards, c.9% of the UK's total, of which 777 acres are fully productive, Chapel Down is England's leading winemaker. From its home in Tenterden, Kent, the company produces a range of sparkling and still wines which consistently win prestigious international awards for their quality.
Good booze
Turning to today’s numbers, net sales in Chapel Down’s largest category, Off-trade, grew by 18% to £4.4 million. During the period the firm extended its position as market leader in the English Sparkling Wine category, with a 37% market share across the Off-trade channel, up from 35% in H1 2025. According to NIQ’s UK Off Trade Sparkling Wines data, in terms of the moving annual total (MAT) to 13/06/2026, Chapel Down outperformed the wider market, with its sparkling wine growth of 20% comparing to the overall English Sparkling Wine category growth of 15%.
There was similar growth in the On-trade category where net sales also grew by 18%, this time to £1.5 million, with distribution growth of 6% to 2,750 unique outlets.
The strongest net sales performance was seen in the International category, with growth of 66% to £0.8 million. A US partnership with leading independent winemaker Jackson Family Wines is said to be gaining traction, with Chapel Down now present in 31 states and a new listing secured in 250 Whole Foods Market stores nationwide. Chapel Down traded in 19 international markets at the end of the period, up from 16 a year previously.
Finally, net sales in the Direct to Consumer business grew by a more modest 4% to £2.5 million. The firm gained 3,838 new customers on its own brand website in the period, with an increase to 63% (H1 2025: 62%) in the returning customer rate.
Chapel Down 10 year share price chart
The focus remains on delivering strong double-digit growth, with management being confident in delivering FY2026 results in line with market expectations. Those expectations are for net sales revenue of £22.1 million and Adjusted EBITDA (excluding fair value adjustment to biological produce) of £3.7 million. Those expectations compare to the respective FY2025 numbers of £19.4 million and £3.73 million – so essentially a flat expected EBITDA performance on higher revenues for the full year.
On the balance sheet, net debt increased to £14 million at the period end, up from £12.4 million at the year-end in December, in line with expectations. During H1, the firm’s Revolving Credit Facility was increased from £20 million to £25 million, with a further £5 million accordion option remaining to extend the facility to £30 million.
Vintage form
A few operational highlights of the period included new brand partnerships being signed with The Jockey Club and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, with a renewed partnership signed with Ascot for another 3 years. Sales at Royal Ascot this year were said to be exceptional due to increased visibility and the launch of the Rosé Magnum, with +45% value growth in consumer sales compared with 2025.
Elsewhere, the firm continues to receive international recognition for its high quality wines, with 9 prestigious Gold awards being received during the first half across Decanter, IWSC, WineGB, IWC and other competitions. Premiumisation is central to the Chapel Down strategy, with Traditional Method Sparkling now making up 74% of wine net sales revenues (H1 2025: 70%), with Chapel Down's price index against Champagne maintained at 92%. Meanwhile, the flagship site in Tenterden has benefited from the opening of a new tasting room and has increased its TripAdvisor rating to 4.8 (H1 2025: 4.7) with over 1,000 5-star reviews, the highest of any English vineyard.
Grape news
In terms of the upcoming harvest, weather conditions in Kent during the 2026 growing season are said to have been variable, with a late frost in May followed by warm, sunny conditions.
This contrasts with last year when head winemaker, Josh Donahay-Spire, commented: "2025 has been one of those rare years that winemakers dream of.” Last year Chapel Down commented on excellent growing conditions throughout the season, combined with a relatively settled weather pattern during the harvest itself, resulting in good yields and exceptional fruit quality.
For 2026, the expectation is that the overall yield will be broadly in line with the 5-year average in terms of tonnes per acre. We’ll get an update closer to harvest time around October once there is more visibility on harvest yields.
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Disclosures
Chapel Down is not a research client of Optimo Research.
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