Decanter World Wine AwardsWine investment firm disappears
- Tuesday 28 August 2012
Global: website shut down
Global Wine Investments, which was set up in April 2011, recently closed its website and cut its phone lines.
The company’s registered and trading address, 70 St Mary Axe in the City of London, was an accommodation address only – no business was done from there.
Blogs such as investdrinks.org have received several complaints from customers of Global, some of whom ordered wine worth many thousands of pounds but have received nothing.
One investor said: ‘I purchased four cases of Lafite Rothschild 2008, for £8,500 per case. I made the payment on 30th April 2012. They have twice offered me a refund, once spent a week telling me it was in the post, but nothing has materialized.’
Global’s two main directors were Michael Wilson and James Hamilton. The former was also a director of Omera Limited, which was dissolved in October 2011; some customers of Global were told that Omera was funding Global Wine Investments Ltd.
A spokesperson for major bonded warehouse London City Bond confirmed that Global Wine Investments Ltd did have an account with them: ‘We have frozen this account. However, it has minimal stock in it.’
It is too early to know what the total deficiency is.
Jim Budd runs investdrinks.org
Have your say!
TARA TAN KITAOKA.
September 03 04:38
Fine Wines are for people who can pay the correct prices for them. I have been
in the wine business for 23 years.Fine wine drinkers now a days try to get cheap prices for such bordeaux wines. These investors have themselves to blame. Buy wines for sole-importers not importers who promise cheap prices for good wines. Well, it is a good lesson for such minded buyers. Too good to be true.
G. Lewis
August 29 12:10
I sympathise with anyone who has lost money, especially seeing how long it took us to save up to invest in wine.
But, you must choose a reputable company. You wouldn't invest £26k (like the chap with the Lafite 08) with a company that advertised savings accounts in the back of The Sun would you? So why do it with wine?
Stick with Berry's, Bordeaux Index, Farr, Nickolls&Perks, and the multitude of other well-known ones - just like you would with a bank - there's plenty of choice out there.
Rod Patches
August 28 14:42
Too many of these organizations seem to have issues. It usually brings me back to fretting about futures was well. Too many fingers in the pot as they have my money upfront and for years at a time.