The first under Vindustrious ownership
May 22, 2026 — London Wine Fair’s new owner, Vindustrious, has reported the best figures since pre-Covid, in terms of both exhibitors and visitors. Exhibitor bookings were up 9% (from 445 in 2025, to 475 in 2026) , with a 13% increase in floor space. Visitor numbers saw an aligned increase of 8.2% across the three days, topping the 10,000 threshold for the first time in 6 years. The 2026 net visitor audience was 10,539 compared to 9,741 in 2025, with Monday’s visitor audience up 13.5% on the previous year. The on trade continued to be the most represented sector of visitors, making up 35% of the total audience. The all-important visitor: exhibitor ratio remains the same, at 22:1, significantly more than double that of LWF’s international competitors.
The 45th edition of London Wine Fair was the most diverse to date, with 3,884 products registered from more than 40 countries, from Argentina to the USA, spanning those off the beaten track, including South Korea, Japan, Serbia and Peru. Pop Up Tastings doubled Year on Year, bringing in Germany, New Zealand, WineGB East and Defined Wine. The visitor audience echoed this diversity; whilst 82% were from the UK; 61 countries were represented by the visitor audience; the top five country’s represented were: UK; Italy; France; USA; and Spain. Visitor searches in the lead up to and during the show indicated the top five most popular countries for searching products were: UK; France; Greece; Italy; and Spain. The top five products visitors searched for reflected the burgeoning interest in the domestic wine scene; all were English producers: Harrow & Hope; The Evolution Winery (1256 Wines); Sandridge Barton Wines; MDCV UK; and Everflyht.
Exhibitor bookings for 2027, are up Year on Year, indicating a positive start for the next show. The following companies are amongst those who have booked stands so far: Rias Baixas; The Canned Wine Company; Felix Solis; Czech Republic; Balfour Winery; Beyond Wine; and GM Drinks; Morgenrot Beer & Wine Shippers has confirmed a return after a brief hiatus.
Alongside diversity, “renewal” was another signifier for the 2026 show. Along with the change of ownership following an MBO back in October 2025, this year’s London Wine Fair has also launched new initiatives and partnerships. The inaugural Host Nation initiative launched with the purpose of shining a spotlight on one country or region. Appropriately, the home nations showcased in year one, and growth in English wine producers exhibiting was five-fold, drawing corresponding interest from the visitor audience. London Wine Fair created a dedicated sector for breweries and cideries for the first time, with a partnership with BREW//LDN Trade hosting almost 50 artisan producers. And The Sustainability Hub by Impact Focus launched both to host NGOs and NFPOs but also to ensure the delivery of the show was as sustainable as possible.
Engagement was particularly high, with a record 985 meetings between exhibitors and visitors booked via the Essential Planner, representing an increase of 21% on 2025. And education remained a focus, with a record-breaking 101 sessions delivered across the three days, including a dozen on sustainability, also the most to date covering this sector. Visitors searches by “trails” for sustainability were second only to the Host Nation.
Commenting on her first show as the owner of London Wine Fair, Hannah Tovey said: “This year was unlike no other; whilst change was paramount with the MBO, so was consistency as the full London Wine Fair team was retained, ensuring the smoothest of transitions. We have been buoyed by the support of our exhibitors, visitors and the wider drinks industry throughout the process; they have been nothing but supportive. Over the last three days the team has delivered a truly transformational event. We grew the show’s exhibitor and visitor numbers, whilst retaining our hard-won focus on quality across both audiences. Our Host Nation initiative was a phenomenal success, as reflected by the 500% growth in English wine producers at the show – many of whom will remain with the show for 2027 – and the over-indexing in visitor interest. We could not be more delighted.
“Now the work begins on 2027; the first show to benefit from the Vindustrious ownership from the get-go. The pressure is on to top 2026, and we will be announcing initiatives – including the 2027 Host Nation and Icon Tasting – over the coming months.”
Feedback from the show floor
“More, more, more! That was my experience of London Wine Fair 2026. I saw more exhibitors, more visitors and more products. The Host Nation theme added character, the education programme was high quality and there was more than a whiff of business in the air. But perhaps my favourite part was the conversation and camaraderie. It felt like our event, our home, our London Wine Fair.”
Miles Beale, CEO, Wine & Spirit Trade Association
“It’s been a great privilege to be at London Wine Fair again; we have had a really good reception to English Wines. A fantastic Pop Up Tasting, where it was great to see how many people came through. Clearly London Wine Fair had done a great job advertising what was happening and letting people know. We had lots of interest from people on Monday saying they were looking forward to the tasting the following day and then lots of people coming through the tasting, with really good feedback from all the vineyards that came along. Really good to see London Wine Fair getting behind English Wine and I think both of us need to support one another and raise the profile of English Wine. So, thank you to London Wine Fair and we look forward to next year!”
Henry Sugden, CEO, Defined Wine
“London Wine Fair has delivered a standout result for Georgia this year. All three of our masterclasses ran at full capacity, with serious quality of audience across national retail buyers, importers, sommeliers and the independent trade. The feedback from visitors has been outstanding — both on the wines themselves and on the depth of the Georgian category story. LWF continues to be an effective UK trade platform for building Georgian wine’s commercial momentum, and this year has advanced that.”
Sarah Abbott MW, Director, Georgian Wines UK (GWUK)
“Sustainability was at the heart of this year’s show with visitors gaining practical tips and ideas from a packed agenda of sessions we curated across the centre stage and in the inaugural Sustainability Hub by Impact Focus. There is a real sense that the industry is stepping up its sustainability efforts with increasing engagement around strategy, B Corp and the importance of being able to confidently communicate these positive actions to drive sales. In a challenging market, it was particularly inspiring to hear from retailers and suppliers who are seeing sustainability as a competitive advantage and making it a core pillar of their business.”
Rosie Davenport, Founder of sustainability strategy and communications specialists Impact Focus, the show’s Official Sustainability Partner
“We have had an excellent Wine Fair this year, welcoming more than 400 engaged visitors to our stand to taste the wide range and premium nature of our wonderful Albariño wines from the Rías Baixas region. We appreciated the calibre of the guests, and we believe this is an important show to exhibit at if you are serious about the UK market”
Ramon Huidobro Vega, Head of the Consejo Regulador Rías Baixas
“Congratulations on your success. Your new systems worked wonders and the show was a great platform for Sommelier Edit. We had influential sommeliers stop by throughout to either register for Top 100, try their luck at the Coravin competition or learn how to judge wines to competition standard.”
Charlotte Hey, Co-founder, Sommelier Edit
“Huge congrats for orchestrating what was a truly memorable three days, I had an absolute blast as did many of my counterparts in the industry – frankly fricking impressive to see you pull it all together so seamlessly.”
Sunny Hodge, aspen & meursault and Diogenes the Dog
“Virginia Wine was thrilled by the strong reception at this year’s London Wine Fair, where trade and industry professionals showed significant interest and curiosity in Virginia’s distinctive wine styles and emerging varieties. Cabernet Franc and Petit Manseng both resonated and continue to impress.”
Anna Anderson, Marketing Manager, Virginia Wine
“This has been a huge success. We have not been in the UK market at all, so to come to this show with so many professionals, importers and distributors giving their feedback and tasting the product has been a wonderful experience.”
Adam Starowicz, Founder, Veda Spirits
“We have had a really nice three days, we have a lot of people who were curious about our new Claret – our light red fruit forward new Bordeaux. We had journalists, bloggers, bars, restaurants, and also retailers and wine merchants.”
Stéphanie Sinoquet, Director, Syndicat de Bordeaux et Bordeaux Superior
“It has been great; we have met lots of our customers, as well as lots of new customers. We have had a great few days, showing our bestsellers and all the new releases. It makes a big difference being face-to-face with people.”
Cecile Lavaud-White, Managing Director, Les Producteurs et Vignerons de France
“I have really enjoyed the last three days. Footfall was visibly up on Monday and Tuesday in particular and I have really enjoyed the quality and quantity of the visitors. I have been recommending the show to other suppliers.”
Darren Mackey, Commercial Manager, UK Europe Calabria Family Wine Group
London Wine Fair 2027 will take place at Olympia from 17th to 19th May. www.londonwinefair.com
