North East urban winery secures five-figure funding boost for expansion

An ‘urban winery’ in the North East has secured a five-figure investment to grow its range of English wines and take on new staff.

Laneberg Wine has secured £35k of funding from the North East Small Loan Fund (NEL), supported By The European Regional Development Fund.

Founded by Elise Lane, the Team Valley-based firm specialises in English wines using grapes grown at a vineyard in Leicestershire.

In addition to having wine stocked North East retailers such as Fenwick, Richard Granger in Jesmond and The Corbridge Larder, Laneberg’s wines are also served in restaurants including The French Quarter in Newcastle, Bistro 46 in Jesmond and Sorella Sorella in Gateshead.

Laneberg will use the new investment to expand its range of wines, as well recruit and train a wine-making apprentice.

Laneberg founder Elise Lane explained: “We want Laneberg Wines to become a staple part of North East wine drinkers’ list of favourites, and we’re working towards widening the range that we produce to ensure we’re appealing to lots of different types of customers.

“We’ve learned a great deal over the last couple of years, both about the wines we’re making and the ways in which we can bring them to market, and the prospects for this year’s vintage look extremely strong on both fronts.

“Accessing investment from a fund that is solely focused on our region was very appealing to us, and the NEL team helped make the application process smooth and straightforward.”

Mike Guellard, investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, added: “The North East might not seem like the obvious place for this sort of business, but Laneberg has already demonstrated the quality of its wines and has robust plans in place for scaling-up production in the future.”