OREANDA-NEWS. Majestic Wine PLC, a leading wine specialist operating in four divisions; Majestic Retail, Naked Wines, Majestic Commercial and Lay & Wheeler, announces that Naked Wines, the online crowd-funding platform, has successfully hit a key milestone of a record 100m pounds in sales since March 31st 2015, the start of the current financial year.

The company's drive to provide its 'angel' customers with exclusive direct access to independent winemakers through divisions in the UK, USA and Australia has resulted in over 300,000 'mature' angels - who have been customers for over four months - supporting more than 100 independent winemakers in 14 countries.

Reaching this key target highlights the continued success that Naked Wines has demonstrated since its launch in 2008 by focusing on its online social distribution model to deliver service, quality and authenticity to customers passionate about wine.  Naked Wines' customers get access to exclusive deals whilst ensuring that winemakers get the investment, support and feedback to grow and improve their businesses and wines.

Achieving 100m pounds sales is in line with market expectations for Naked Wines for the financial year ending 28 March 2016.

Rowan Gormley, Chief Executive of Majestic Wine PLC commented:

"Hitting this latest milestone proves once again that crowd-funded, social wine distribution can deliver brilliant outcomes for all our stakeholders at the same time - from those who pick the grapes to those who discover and drink our wines.

We'd like to thank our angels for being part of the Naked Wines' journey so far and supporting independent winemakers whilst discovering some fantastic wines.

We will continue to invest in Naked Wines and remain very excited about the opportunities ahead for the whole Group."

About Majestic Wine PLC:

Majestic Wine PLC is a leading wine specialist, operating in four separate divisions, each with the fundamental goal of delivering sustained growth in shareholder value by doing the right thing for the Group's customers, suppliers and people:

•Majestic Retail - The UK's largest specialist wine retailer, with 214 branches in the UK and 2 in France. Majestic Retail aims to help people find the wines they will love through over 800 highly trained, specialist graduate staff. Sales for the year ended 31 March 2015 were 231m pounds.

•Naked Wines - A leading crowd-funding platform offering wine drinkers the opportunity to buy exclusive wines at preferential prices, in exchange for supporting independent winemakers. Sales for the year ended 31 March 2015 were 81m pounds.

•Majestic Commercial - A specialist on-trade supplier who aims to support businesses to make their wine lists more profitable, with the unique advantage of running their supply chain through Majestic Retail stores. Sales for the year ended 31 March 2015 were 42m pounds.

•Lay and Wheeler - A Specialist fine wine merchant. Lay & Wheeler aims to be a trusted guide for people who love fine wine, supplying the world's finest wines with a personal service. Sales for the year ended 31 March 2015 were 10m pounds.