The Wine Society, a historic mutual organisation serving over 180,000 members, faces a significant financial challenge in 2025 due to rising costs, with alcohol duty playing a central role. CEO Steve Finlan has exclusively revealed the stark impact of new duty rates to db, which will add an estimated £3 to £3.5 million to the Society’s costs next year, alongside a slew of other financial pressures. “Duty as a whole will cost us in the region of £3 to £3.5 million next year,” Finlan said. This increase follows a 20% duty rise in 2023, a burden The Wine Society absorbed without passing on the cost to its members. However, Finlan warned that holding the line indefinitely is unsustainable. “A combination of those two means that we will have to put some prices up as we go into next year. However, we are still planning—and we’ve not finalised the plans yet—but we’re planning to hold a whole bunch of prices and keep any rise to an absolute minimum. That means that for us as a business, we can do this because we’re a mutual.” The upcoming duty increase is not an isolated financial strain for The Wine Society. Other escalating costs include £1.3 million linked to the government’s Extended Producer Responsibility scheme, which places additional demands on packaging producers. The organisation also faces a £400,000 increase in National Insurance contributions and a further £400,000 in rate rises as tapering relief ends. Additionally, the Society has committed to a staff pay review
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine