A new online fine wine stock exchange for the trade and private collectors and investors is set to launch later this month.
Cavex, which has been 18 months in the making, is aiming to break new ground in the way fine wine is bought and sold, providing competition to existing exchanges such as Liv-ex and Berry Bros & Rudd’s BBX.
Cavex CEO and co-founder Stephen Maunder claims that the trading platform – www.cavex.co.uk – is unlike all other UK-based exchange models.
‘We’re different to Liv-ex because we’re open to private individuals,’ he said.
‘And we’re different to BBX for two reasons: one is that the trade can use our site and the other is our fee structure – we take a small 3% commission on both sides of the trade.’
In contrast, BBX is a one-sided transaction, with the seller paying the full 10% broking commission.
Fund manager Peter Lunzer of Lunzer Wine Investments said he thought many collectors and investors would like the idea of cutting out merchants and brokers to buy and sell wines direct at an agreed price.
‘Most importantly of all, it will potentially generate much greater rates of return on investment,’ he said.
The exchange, which will hold data on over 50,000 wines, is open to global buyers, but wines can only be traded via recognised UK bonded warehouses.
Cavex, which is due to launch in late March, has been funded by more than a dozen City backers, who have collectively put a six-figure sum into the new venture.
Maunder’s career spans more than 25 years in money broking and banking, as well as a five-year spell with Bibendum’s Fine Wine Team.
Written by John Stimpfig
