UK wine firm goes bust after selling bottles "off the books"
A UK wine company has gone into liquidation after a tax tribunal was held because the business was selling bottles ‘off the books’.
Alcoholic beverage wholesaler New Claire Wine Ltd had liquidators appointed on May 19, 2026.
Giles McCarthy of Netchwood Finance Ltd was appointed at the virtual meeting.
According to The Gazette, a special resolution was passed for the Company to be wound up voluntarily, and an ordinary resolution was passed appointing the Liquidator for the purposes of the winding-up.
The collapse of the company follows a UK court’s decision to uphold a higher penalty imposed by the tax authority on the business for deliberately suppressing sales.
New Claire Wine’s directors challenged a January 2024 First-Tier Tribunal decision, which found the company had understated its sales in corporation tax and value-added tax returns.
HMRC made a combined tax claim of £427,310. It was found that there were severe discrepancies in the company’s stock, with over 9,700 cases of wine purchased off the books.
There were also reportedly missing purchase invoices and unrecorded sales.
Due to this, HMRC treated the omitted company sales as funds misappropriated by the director.
The alcohol supplier then faced assessments for VAT, Corporation Tax, and director’s loan account (Section 455) liabilities.
The London-based company was also fined for deliberate tax return errors.
In the current financial climate, many businesses seem to be struggling, with an increase in company insolvency.
Another UK alcoholic beverage company also recently went into liquidation.
MWH Wine Merchants Limited appointed Thomas Edward Guthrie and John William Rimmer of BRI Business Recovery to oversee the winding up of operations on May 13.
The award-winning, independent wine merchant offered a variety of fine and rare wines, shipping worldwide before its closure.
Deputy Editor
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