Spiritrade awarded AWRS and WOWGR by UK government

Starting the year with a bang, global drinks marketplace Spiritrade has opened its doors to domestic B2B customers due to strong demand from UK brand owners and stockholders.

Having successfully applied for the Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS) and Warehousekeepers and Owners of Warehoused Goods Regulations (WOWGR), the company has partnered with London City Bond warehousing to offer a safe and secure solution to all UK members.

“The benefit to Spiritrade’s members in the UK is that they can now access a global market with no risk or direct cost attached, while reducing overall company overheads and increasing their global visibility at a click of a button,” says Andrew de Lavis-Trafford, global head of trade for Spiritrade.

Specifically, UK sellers will now be able to shift unwanted stock easily and safely to willing buyers around the country. Now more than ever this is becoming a necessity in the drinks trade.

Successful registration into the schemes means that as Spiritrade continues to grow its visibility and increase its warehouse coverage around the world, members will be able to trade safely and efficiently, and allow their businesses to run in a far more structured manner.

‘With the ongoing global supply challenges, an increasing number of brand owners are choosing to work directly with Spiritrade’

“Members will be able to access a plethora of data using our platform, particularly around pricing and trends,” de Lavis-Trafford explains.

Spiritrade’s successful application could not have come at a better time, as the pandemic continues to affect the supply chain and impact businesses.

“HMRC awarding the AWRS and WOWGR will enable our members in the UK to manage stock inventories more conclusively,” he says.

“We are talking to customers daily who either have issues around selling their surplus stock or have issues around accessing major stock lines for their businesses. Both aspects are becoming very serious concerns for businesses particularly during this pandemic which has seriously damaged the supply chain.

“The purpose of Spiritrade is to assist businesses to alleviate those concerns and help match suitable buyers to sellers and increase the odds of profitability.”

Gaining certification is the first of many steps being taken by the company in 2022. From moving to a new office and increasing the number of staff to opening an office in Asia, Spiritrade will be launching the third version of its platform, and activating new categories for members to access.

“With the ongoing global supply challenges, an increasing number of brand owners are choosing to work directly with Spiritrade as we are ensuring that goods bound for a particular market end up there,” says de Lavis-Trafford.

“Due to our global network we have been able to prevent large quantities of stock from being destroyed, and in the process return the cost of goods and profit back to the business.”

Aiming to be the main platform for the B2B drinks industry, 2022 is off to a good start for Spiritrade, as the business continues to grow, and break into new markets.