Former Evans & Tate executive chairman Franklin Tate is poised to make a comeback to the wine sector this year with the launch of a wine distribution business.
Mr Tate’s company, Grape Expectations Vintners Pty Ltd, has applied for a wholesaler’s licence with the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor.
A wholesaler’s licence is typically granted when at least 90 per cent of gross turnover in a business is from the sale of liquor to liquor merchants.
The move into wine distribution comes five months after Mr Tate resigned as a director of E&T, which was put into administration by its largest creditor, ANZ, after two years of restructuring, asset sales and management upheaval failed to extinguish its ballooning $100 million debt.
A spokeswoman said Mr Tate did not want to comment on his new venture at this stage.
Wine industry sources told WA Business News that Mr Tate had recruited a team of people, including a general manager and people with sales and marketing expertise, to help him operate a distribution business.
Australian Securities and Investment Commission records reveal that former E&T sales manager Sean Bell is a director of Grape Expectations Vintners, along with Mr Tate’s wife, Heather.
The records show the company was registered on October 20 2006 and operates from the ground floor of 2 Bagot Road in Subiaco.
It is understood Grape Expectations Vintners plans to import wines, most likely from Chile and Argentina.
