Berry Bros & Rudd wine warehouse hit by burglars

Thieves have got away with an estimated £100,000 of fine wine after smashing their way into a warehouse owned by UK merchant Berry Bros & Rudd.

Police believe wine worth at least £100,000 was taken in the raid at the company’s base in Hamilton Close, Basingstoke, early on Sunday, 26 April.

They said the gang broke into the warehouse just after midnight, making a ‘large hole’ in the warehouse wall in the process.

‘It’s going to be high-value,’ a Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson told Decanter.com. ‘Apparently one of the cases taken was worth over £5,000.’

He added that the company had been due to carry out a full stock take last week, but early estimates suggested that the wine would easily be worth ‘a six-figure sum’. Police were reviewing CCTV footage on Tuesday (5 May) and have appealed for witnesses to the break-in.

Berry Bros & Rudd has so far revealed few details of the theft, with a spokesperson saying: ‘It’s still very much a police investigation at the moment.’

The spokesperson did not reveal any information about the wines taken in the break-in, and added: ‘We’re working with police following an incident at one of our warehouses in Basingstoke and are thankful that none of our staff was injured.

‘The security of our staff and facilities continues to be our highest priority, together with taking the best care of our customers.’

Written by Richard Woodard