Key Details:
- Client: UK-based entrepreneur and experienced wine collector
- Asset Type: Fine wine collection stored across multiple jurisdictions
- Challenge: Required immediate liquidity for a time-sensitive business opportunity without selling the wine collection
- Loan Type: Specialist wine-backed lending facility
Our client was an English entrepreneur with a long-established international fine wine portfolio, comprising a range of premium European labels held in bonded storage across multiple jurisdictions. When a time-sensitive business opportunity arose, the client required liquidity without selling or moving the wine, allowing the collection to remain within its existing storage arrangements.
The collection was spread across multiple jurisdictions, with each facility professionally managed. Standard lenders may require the consolidation or relocation of assets before considering them as security, which was not suitable for the client's circumstances. Valuation and provenance verification also needed to accommodate the collection's cross-border storage arrangements.
Enness introduced the client to a specialist lender experienced in cross-border wine-backed lending. A temporary administrative adjustment to the bonded accounts allowed the lender to establish its security position without requiring the wine to be physically moved. Independent specialists were engaged to verify condition, provenance and storage arrangements across the relevant locations.
The facility was structured around the wine collection, with the security arrangements designed to provide the lender with appropriate control and certainty throughout the term. This enabled the client to access the required liquidity while retaining ownership of the collection and avoiding the need for an immediate sale.
The funding provided the client with liquidity to pursue the business opportunity while allowing the wine collection to remain within its established storage arrangements. The case demonstrates how specialist asset-backed lending can provide alternative sources of finance for clients holding valuable collectable assets across multiple jurisdictions.
Regulatory Notice
Wine-backed lending and other forms of specialist asset-backed lending may fall outside UK FCA regulation. Regulatory protections applicable to regulated mortgage products may therefore not apply. The regulatory treatment of a transaction will depend on its structure, purpose, the assets used as security and the circumstances of the borrower.
Disclaimer
This case study is provided for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, tax, investment or other professional advice. The client scenario has been anonymised and certain details have been generalised to protect confidentiality. Finance is subject to status, underwriting, valuation, asset suitability, jurisdiction and lender criteria. Loan amounts, pricing, lending structures and outcomes are indicative only and may vary depending on individual circumstances. Enness Global acts as a credit broker and not as a lender.
Risk Warning
Wine and other collectable assets can be illiquid and their values can fluctuate. There is no guarantee that an asset will retain or increase in value. Where borrowing is secured against assets, a fall in value may result in additional collateral requirements, partial repayment or the sale of pledged assets. Failure to meet repayment obligations may result in the loss of secured assets.
Enness does not give advice on Securities Backed Lending or investments; lender introductions are unregulated.
Information contained in our case studies is for market and illustrative purposes only. In some cases, these may be made up of multiple cases and are for illustrative purposes only.
Some case studies are made up of enquiries that have come into the business, not all business completes, and the posting of a case study does not represent a completed piece of business.
Property values can fall as well as rise, and you may not get back the amount originally invested. Property investments can be illiquid and may take time to sell. Where borrowing is used, your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured against it.
