Chapel Down reported 19% higher first-half sales as net debt climbed to £14 million

Chapel Down, the English wine producer, said its net sales revenue rose 19% in the first half of 2026 to £9.4 million in the United Kingdom, but its net debt also increased by £2.7 million from a year earlier as the company continued to fund inventory and expansion.

The trading update, released on July 29 and covering the six months ended June 30, showed growth across all of the company’s main channels. Net debt reached £14 million, up from £11.3 million in the first half of 2025 and above the £12.4 million reported at the end of 2025. Chapel Down said the increase was in line with expectations and reflected its capital allocation policy, including investment in maturing stock to support future growth.

The company’s first-half net sales revenue was up from £7.9 million a year earlier, an absolute increase of £1.5 million. Retail sales rose 18% to £4.4 million, while hospitality sales also increased 18% to £1.5 million. Distribution expanded 6%, with Chapel Down products reaching 2,750 outlets, compared with 2,597 a year earlier, an increase of 153 locations.

International sales posted the fastest growth rate, rising 66% to £0.8 million. Chapel Down said its partnership in the United States with Jackson Family Wines was gaining traction and that its wines were now present in 31 states. The company also said it had secured a new listing in 250 Whole Foods Market stores nationwide. By the end of the period, Chapel Down said it was trading in 19 international markets, up from 16 a year earlier.

Direct-to-consumer sales increased 4% to £2.5 million. The company said it added 3,838 new customers through its own website during the period and that its returning customer rate edged up to 63% from 62%.

The producer said premium sparkling wines continued to account for a larger share of its business. Traditional method sparkling wines represented 74% of wine net sales revenue in the first half, up from 70% a year earlier. Chapel Down also said it maintained a price index equivalent to 92% of Champagne.

In the British off-trade sparkling wine market, Chapel Down said its sparkling wine sales grew 20%, ahead of the 15% growth recorded by the English sparkling wine category as a whole. The company said it held a 37% market share in English sparkling wine in that channel, up from 35% a year earlier, citing NIQ data.

The company linked part of its commercial momentum to marketing and brand partnerships signed this year. It announced agreements with The Jockey Club, including placements at Cheltenham, Epsom and Newmarket racecourses, and with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It also renewed its partnership with Ascot for another three years. Chapel Down said consumer sales at Royal Ascot rose 45% in value from 2025 after greater visibility for the brand and the launch of a rosé magnum format.

Brand awareness remained at 46%, unchanged from a year earlier, according to Savanta BrandVue data cited by the company. Chapel Down also said it received nine gold awards in the first half across competitions including Decanter, IWSC, WineGB and IWC.

At its tourism operations in Kent, Chapel Down said its Tenterden site benefited from the opening of a new tasting room in Hythe. The company reported a TripAdvisor rating of 4.8, up from 4.7 a year earlier, with more than 1,000 five-star reviews.

The balance sheet remains a key point for investors as Chapel Down continues to grow in a category that requires time and capital to build stock. During the first half, the company extended its revolving credit facility from £20 million to £25 million and kept an additional £5 million accordion option that could raise total borrowing capacity to £30 million.

The company said weather conditions in Kent during the 2026 growing season had been mixed, with a late frost in May followed by warm and sunny conditions. Its board said current expectations were for yields to be broadly in line with the five-year average, though it plans to provide another update closer to harvest when there is more visibility on crop volumes and on the non-cash fair value adjustment for biological produce.

Chapel Down said it remained confident of delivering full-year results in line with market expectations. According to figures cited by the board before publication of the update, those expectations are for full-year net sales revenue of £22.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of £3.7 million.

The figures released by Chapel Down are unaudited and refer to the producer’s own revenues rather than total sales across the British wine market. Even so, they offer one of the clearest recent signals that demand for English sparkling wine remains strong across retail, hospitality and export channels, even as producers carry higher debt loads to finance stock and expansion.