Chapel Down raises £5.5 million to expand sparkling-wine production in Kent
The English producer plans a new press hall, additional tanks and supporting equipment at its Tenterden winery, with completion scheduled for July 2027 and annual sparkling-wine capacity projected to reach 2.4 million bottles in an average harvest.
Fundraising and construction timetable
Chapel Down has raised about £5.5 million from institutional and other professional investors to expand its winery near Tenterden. On 4 November 2026, the producer said it had placed 12,790,697 new shares at 43 pence each. Directors committed £505,000, while 2 UK institutional investors indicated that they would invest up to £2.5 million as cornerstone backers.1
About £4.5 million of the proceeds is allocated to a new soft-pressing facility. A separate retail offer, opened on 5 November with a target of up to about £500,000, was due to close at midday on 9 November. Planning permission has been granted, and work is expected to start in the 4th quarter of 2026, after the current harvest, before scheduled completion in July 2027.1
The project comprises a 5th press alongside the 4 already in operation, 10 tanks of 50,000 liters each, automation and efficiency equipment, and construction work covering cooling, air and feeding systems, waste treatment, and health and safety. Chief Executive James Pennefather said the investment would support better margins, quality and operational resilience.1
More juice directed to sparkling wine
The expansion is intended to direct a larger proportion of grapes and juice into Chapel Down’s traditional-method sparkling wines, which the company identifies as its best-selling and most profitable products. It says each bottle produces about 4 times the gross margin of its other wines. Some juice currently pressed at Tenterden goes into lower-priced still and carbonated wines.1
After completion, the volume of juice per ton of grapes used for sparkling wine is projected to rise from 550 liters to 630 liters, while sparkling wine’s share of Tenterden output is expected to increase from 79% to 90%. Daily pressing capacity should advance from 90 tons to 140 tons, reducing the time required to process an average harvest from 30 days to 21 days.1
The shorter processing period should allow grapes to be pressed closer to picking, which the company expects to benefit quality. Additional capacity should also make it easier to handle larger harvests at Tenterden instead of sending fruit to external winemakers, an arrangement that can increase costs.1
Production and margin projections
For an average harvest, annual sparkling-wine production at the site is projected to increase from 2.1 million to 2.4 million bottles. Output could reach 2.8 million bottles in a larger harvest year. Chapel Down expects about 300,000 bottles a year to move from still and carbonated wine into sparkling wine.1
The producer estimates that this shift could add about £2 million in annual gross margin from 2030, when the first extra bottles become available after aging. Chapel Down has also moved forward its goal of selling about 2.5 million bottles of sparkling wine annually: the target is now set for 2033 instead of 2035 and represents about 1% of global Champagne volumes.1
The 2026 harvest
Chapel Down harvested 2,706 tons of grapes in 2026, compared with 2,882 tons in 2025. Yield was 3.0 tons per acre, 9% below its 5-year average of 3.3 tons per acre. The company attributed the reduction to modest damage in affected areas from a late spring frost in May.1
Despite the smaller crop, the producer expects the 2026 harvest to yield about 2.5 million bottles of wine. It has access to 1,006 acres of vineyards, including 897 acres in full production, and about 75% of the plantings are on the chalk soils of the Kent North Downs.1
Sales and ownership commitments
The investment follows a period of commercial growth: Chapel Down reported half-year sales of £9.4 million, an increase of 19%. The capacity project is intended to reinforce its position in the premium sparkling-wine market by improving consistency, margins and the ability to process fruit on site.1
The directors’ £505,000 commitment included £200,000 each from Lord Michael Spencer and Nigel Wray, whom Chapel Down identified as its 2 largest shareholders. Their respective holdings were 27.34% and 13.78%. Pennefather said the placing attracted support from both new and existing investors.1
Scope of the announcement
Chapel Down announced no changes for visitors to the Small Hythe site near Tenterden. Its update addressed production rather than retail, restaurant or tourism activities, and did not state whether construction between the winter of 2026 and July 2027 would affect access to the property.1
Sources
Written by the Dionysus editors from the sources above.
