Aussie wine firm toasts Aim

SHARES in Palandri began trading on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) today, making it the first Australian wine producer to obtain a London listing.

The placing has raised £3.36m of new funds which will be used to finance the company‘s growth in the international marketplace.

The UK accounts for 35% of Palandri‘s output but the company has ambitious plans to develop in the US, where Australian wines are perceived as a premium brand.

In the UK, meanwhile, existing customers include Somerfield, the Co-op and Londis, where its wines sell in the £4.99-£8.99 price range. The company is in talks with a new distributor as part of a move to gain greater access to a wider range of supermarket retailers.

Palandri was set up in 1998 and its winery is based in the Margaret River region in Western Australia. Last year it produced about 145,000 cases of wine, half of which was sold in the Australian market.

The company has a five year history of profits and in the year to June 2003 reported a pre-tax profit of A$3.36m (£1.4m) on sales of A$38.0m

David Massey, an adviser to the company, said private investor interest in Palandri had been considerable. 'It‘s predominantly a stock for private investors, we hope to get some institutions on board in due course. People like to invest in things they understand and the wine business certainly falls in that category.'

Palandri is led by chief executive Darrel Jarvis, a former chief executive of Heytesbury, part of the business empire of the late Australian tycoon Robert Holmes A‘Court.

Nabarro Wells is the company‘s Nominated Adviser and JM Finn is acting as broker.