Marlborough Lines Limited (MLL) have today announced that they are looking for potential strategic partners for its wholly-owned subsidiary, Yealands Wine Group. The company is seeking a partner that will help accelerate offshore market growth and aligns with its sustainable energy goals for the Energise Marlborough strategy.
"Yealands has a valuable asset base, which has grown by $100 million since 2015 when we first purchased it. It has excellent growth prospects, with strong management and governance. We would expect any new partner to enhance the business and the interests of the region, maintaining stability and minimising any disruption," said Phil Robinson, Chair of MLL.
Yealands is based at Seaview in Marlborough's Awatere Valley. It is one of New Zealand's largest independently owned and vertically integrated wine businesses, owning over 1,800 hectares of land.
"Due to the significance of the Yealands business within Marlborough, we will be carefully considering diverse stakeholder and community interests. We recognise the importance of supporting the team at Seaview and our grape-grower community to continue to develop the business to maximise value for MLL and the Marlborough region."
MLL has actively been exploring opportunities for renewable energy generation for Energise Marlborough through subsidiary Energy Marlborough.
"The energy landscape is rapidly changing. Marlborough Lines has an important role in supporting our region's transition to a zero-carbon economy. We're already seeing increasing demands from electric vehicles, ferries, and local industry and significant investment is needed to build the energy capacity and resilience needed to power a sustainable future for the region," said Tim Cosgrove, Chief Executive at MLL.
"We take pride in our vision of energising Marlborough's future. We view this as an opportunity to retain and enhance an investment in Yealands while further investing in our core business."
