FPE Capital has apparently bought control of the UK-based IWSR global drinks database for £7m (€8.1m). The full deal has not been disclosed but the ISWR, as recently as 2016, might have made profits of £2.7m (according to filings for its parent company). So nothing is too clear. The 40-year-old IWSR (formerly the International Wine & Spirits Record) gathers data on drinks brand performance in 157 countries. Its founders, the Smith family, will remain minority shareholders with Alastair Smith staying as a director. Neil Smith, former COO of B2B group Wilmington plc, becomes chair of IWSR under its new ownership. Mark Meek, who took up the role of CEO four years ago, formerly held the same position at Mike Danson’s Datamonitor (sold for a hangover-inducing £513m to Informa in 2007) and parent company Progressive Digital Media. Very data-rich.
FPE backs IWSR drinks dbase
