You are considering an acquisition
Understand how the estate operates and identify questions to investigate before taking a position.
Acquisition & sale
Plan the transaction. Understand the estate.
Acquiring or selling a vineyard involves more than an asset. We connect conditions on the ground, organisation and business economics to help inform your decisions.
Your situation
Start with the reality of your project.
An estate brings together land, production facilities, people, stocks and routes to market. The relationship between them matters as much as each element in isolation. Our support starts with your objectives, the transaction timetable and the information available. It may cover an acquisition, preparation for a sale or the organisation of a handover. We agree the scope with you; specialist legal, tax and property questions are addressed with the appropriate professionals.
You are preparing a sale
Bring together relevant information and clarify the technical, commercial and organisational picture.
You are planning a handover
Anticipate initial decisions, the role of the team and continuity of operations.
The scope
What we work on together.
Understand the operations
Review the vineyard, cellar and organisation using accessible information. Connect observations to operating needs rather than assessing equipment in isolation.
Put the project in perspective
Consider activity, markets, costs and investment needs to discuss the economic assumptions. Identify missing information and questions requiring further specialist work.
Prepare what comes next
Organise sale or handover priorities: responsibilities, timing, coordination and initial actions. Adapt the support to your own involvement and the existing team.
Understand what you are taking over
Five connected perspectives to inform a decision.
A useful assessment connects observations. Available volume is not necessarily sold; tank capacity alone does not describe what can be achieved in a cellar. We seek to understand how the whole business works at the time of the review.
The vineyard and its organisation
The review of vineyard plots covers areas, varieties, planting age, growing practices and the organisation of work, according to accessible information. A visit helps compare documents with observable conditions. The aim is to identify questions requiring further work and operational needs, without inferring future performance from a single snapshot of the estate.
The cellar and equipment
We consider processed volumes, storage capacity, equipment and working practices together. Equipment availability, maintenance and suitability for the operation matter as much as its presence in an inventory. Specialist or regulatory checks remain separate from this operational assessment and are identified where required.
Stocks and their intended use
Bulk wine, wine being aged, bottles and packaging materials require different perspectives. We seek to connect quantities, vintages, preparation status and intended markets. Differences between physical inventory and records need explanation. Accounting value, quality condition and the ability to sell are separate questions to examine with the relevant professionals.
Customers and sales terms
Sales by product and channel help explain dependencies and commercial patterns. We review available information about orders, contracts, pricing terms and timing. Historical revenue is not a guarantee of orders after the handover: assumptions about continuity should be explicit.
The operating cycle and working capital
Working capital requirements concern resources tied up by the gap between operating expenditure and receipts. In wine, the time stocks are held deserves particular attention. We help make assumptions and their timing understandable; financial validation and funding choices are work to undertake with your advisers. The acquisition price, investment needs and ongoing operating requirements should remain separately identifiable.
Prepare the discussion
Information that makes the assessment possible.
The list is adapted to the stage of the transaction and authorised access to data. A missing document becomes a question to clarify, rather than a silent assumption. Start by describing the situation; sensitive documents can be shared later within an agreed framework.
- Plot records, areas and available information on plantings and operating arrangements.
- Equipment inventory, cellar capacities, maintenance information and team organisation.
- Dated stock records: units, vintages, lots, packaging and available reconciliations.
- Sales by range and channel, outstanding orders and main commercial terms.
- Accounts, management information and relevant commitments, supported by the advisers involved.
- Proposed timetable, the seller’s role after the transaction and initial decisions for the buyer.
Move from an observation to a question, then an action.
We distinguish what has been observed, what still needs verification and what depends on a choice. This avoids presenting an uncertainty as an established defect, or a possibility as an achieved result.
Swipe the table horizontally to see all columns.
| Possible observation | Question to examine | Potential action |
|---|---|---|
| Inventories recorded on different dates | Are volumes comparable after intervening movements? | Reconcile records to a common date. |
| Equipment heavily used during harvest | What constraint does this create for operations? | Review maintenance, scheduling and possible alternatives. |
| Sales concentrated among a few customers | What future commitments are documented? | Make commercial continuity assumptions explicit. |
Fictional example · illustrating the approach
A large stock raises several different questions.
A buyer discovers more bottled stock than expected. Before treating it as an opportunity or a problem, they need to understand the references, dates, associated orders and storage conditions. The approach is to bring those elements together, then distinguish documented information from questions still to examine. This invented situation illustrates the reasoning; it does not describe a client or an achieved outcome.
Insight for your decision, with a clear scope.
Depending on the agreed assignment, possible materials include a summary of findings, a list of points to verify or a set of handover priorities. Content and format are defined at the outset. The assessment informs your decision; it replaces neither your choice as buyer or seller, nor the work and formal acts of your other advisers.
Do I need every document before an initial discussion?
No. The first discussion establishes the stage of the transaction and access to information. We then identify what is needed and the limits that missing information places on the assessment.
Can the assignment support the seller?
Yes. Preparing information, making operations understandable and organising a handover are distinct needs from an assessment commissioned by a buyer. The role and mandate must be clearly defined.
What happens after the assessment?
You decide what follows. Handover support can be considered under a separate scope, with agreed priorities and responsibilities.
Our approach
Three steps, shaped around your project.
Understand & define
Clarify your investment or sale objectives, deadlines and available information.
Build the plan
Discuss findings, compare options and prioritise questions to resolve before making a decision.
Act & review
Support the agreed actions and organise the first stages of the sale or handover.
Complementary expertise
A team suited to your project.
Pierre Servant contributes estate management and restructuring experience; Alexandre Chevrollier brings business leadership and financing expertise. Vineyard and cellar specialists are involved as needed. Bruno Guérin, a Deuxième Cercle partner, complements the property dimension of investor projects. The people involved depend on the actual questions to resolve and the scope of your transaction.
Let’s talk
Where are you with your project?
Tell us about your situation, what you wish to change and the decisions ahead. An initial discussion helps clarify the next steps.