Wine merchants toast 21st birthday with major investment

INDEPENDENT wine merchants Bon Coeur Fine Wines are celebrating their 21st birthday with a “long-awaited” move to new premises.

The Masham-based firm received a business loan from Finance Yorkshire to complete its relocation to a 32,000 sq ft site at Melsonby near Scotch Corner.

Yorkshireman James Goodhart founded Bon Coeur in London in 1994 and brought the business to his home county in 2008.

Samantha Goodhart, who runs Bon Coeur alongside her husband said: “We have been looking for the right property for over two years.

“This is the ideal location for the business and features 8,000 square feet of offices, showroom space and tasting rooms.

“It will also feature a demo kitchen as we firmly believe that wine is as much about enjoyment as education.

“Yorkshire is home to many first-rate chefs and restaurants and has become something of a gastronomic powerhouse. We are aiming to achieve the same level of sophistication and knowledge when it comes to wine.

“September will be our 21st anniversary, so it is fitting that we will be settled in our new premises by then.”

Mark Hunter, from the firm’s accountants, Murray Harcourt, introduced Bon Coeur to Finance Yorkshire.

Finance Yorkshire investment manager Jonathan Craig said: “Over the last 20 years, Bon Coeur has become a leading name in the industry, and the relocation to state-of-the-art premises will cement that further.

“We are proud to be associated with the business and have every confidence in Jamie and Samantha and the rest of the team.”

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.