Party over for wine revellers as Vinopolis to close its cellar doors
Vinopolis, the wine tasting and restaurant venue near London’s Borough Market, is to close its doors for good at the end of the year to make way for a new upmarket shopping development.
The 2.3-acre centre, which sits under the Victorian railway arches of London Bridge, was founded 16 years ago as a centre for wine enthusiasts.
It has five bars and restaurants including Brew Wharf pub & micro-brewery and also hires out venue space for corporate and TV events such as The Apprentice.
Its owners Wineworld London said yesterday that it was closing the site after selling the leasehold to a private company called Sherwood Thames Ventures for an undisclosed sum. The freehold is owned by Network Rail.
Vinopolis’ managing director Samantha Anderson, who joined the company last year, said the wine experience “has been challenging over the years” and that closing the venue was “the best possible decision for shareholders”.
“We are all sad to see it go because it is a well known visitor attraction. But we have come to the end of what we can do with Vinopolis and we have to keep shareholders in mind,” she told CityAM
Vinopolis employs around 180 staff. Wineworld’s most recent accounts show it made a consolidated profit of £1.02m last year compared with £520,431 the previous year. Turnover fell from £7.9m to £7.3m.