By Louis Goss
INVESTORS gave Naked Wines a sniff yesterday after two shock stock market announcements – and sent the sommellier back to the cellar.
Shares were down almost 40 per cent yesterday after the firm this week announced the departure of a non-executive director after just two weeks and a worrying business update.
Wayne Brown, an analyst at Liberum, wrote in a scorching note yesterday that “something has gone awry.”
Brown said the business update “could imply a smaller business in the future and reining in ambitions… which makes sense considering how poor key performance indicators are.”
The appointment of Pratham Ravi last month – a 30-year-old analyst working at Punch Card Capital, the groups’ largest shareholder – was swiftly unwound this week.
“The fact we are talking about going concern issues, weak balance sheet and liquidity concerns haing received circa £83m from the disposal of Majestic Wine only three years ago is quite extraordinary,” Brown wrote.
Naked links up independent winemakers with consumers, with the latter receiving better prices than they’d expect on the open market and the former being assured of demand.
“The Group’s focus is on developing plans demonstrating increased profitability, cost restraint and improved payback,” Naked said in their announcement on Tuesday.
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