Wine business in receivership as poor industry conditions continue

A winery and some of its related entities have been placed in receivership as the industry continues to suffer from lower prices, thinner margins and declining sales.

This receivership comes just days after a century-old wine equipment and services supplier in South Australia was placed in voluntary administration.

Receivers have now been appointed to some assets in the Coonawarra Australia Property Trust, which has now been suspended from trading on the Australian Securities Exchange.

In a statement, it was said the trust’s bank appointed John Hart and David Kidman of Ferrier Hodgson as receivers of the property owned by subsidiary CPV Wines.

Hart and Kidman have also been appointed over some assets of Coonawarra Premium Vineyards, which acts as the “responsible entity” of the Coonawarra Vineyards Project, as well as Prince Hill Wine Services, which acts as a management arm for Coonawarra Australia. However, the trust itself is not in receivership.

Ferrier Hodgson was contacted by SmartCompany this morning, but both Hart and Kidman were unavailable for comment.

The Coonawarra Australia Property Trust, which owns 76% of CPV Wines, has been struggling for a while. A requirement to pay back $400,000 on a loan has recently been deferred.

The trust also noted that the trust and subsidiary CPV Wines “failed to meet the interest payments on the Bank Bill facilities” in its latest accounts. A vineyard has been up for sale since late last year.

And while a vineyard owned by the trust has been up for sale, director Andrew Parkinson wrote in the accounts that a sale “could take some time”.

The industry has suffered due to an oversupply of grapes, which has reduced prices and margins, while sales are still low due to widespread low confidence.