Wine Collection Ownership Costs
Fine wine has a very low ongoing cost profile. These are the only recurring charges linked to maintaining a portfolio.
1. Storage Costs
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Recommended partner: LCB Eton Park, UK
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£5.40 per 6×75cl case per year + VAT
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£10.80 per 12×75cl case per year + VAT
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Equivalent to about £0.90 per bottle
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Charged directly by LCB, so your account stays in your own name
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Illustrative example: A medium-risk £100,000 portfolio holding around 100–120 bottles would typically cost about £120 per year in storage.
2. Insurance Costs
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Recommended insurer: AXA XL Syndicate Limited at Lloyd’s (Arranged by LCB on your behalf)
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Estimated at 0.2 percent of Net Asset Value each year
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Illustrative example: A £100,000 portfolio would cost roughly £200 per year in insurance.
3. Typical Annual Carrying Cost for a £100k Portfolio
For a medium-risk collection of about 100–120 bottles:
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Storage cost: around £120 per year
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Insurance cost: about £200 per year
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Total annual carrying cost: about £320 per year
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This is approximately 0.32 percent of a £100,000 portfolio.
Transaction Costs
Transaction fees depend on where the wine was sourced and whether you are reinvesting or withdrawing the proceeds. There are no fees to purchase wine through Cellar Advisor and no management charges.
1. Wines Purchased Through Cellar Advisor
A simple 2 percent flat fee on all sales, whether you are reinvesting or exiting.
2. Wines Not Purchased Through Cellar Advisor
Many clients join with existing wine portfolios held across several merchants or storage facilities. We provide a complete transfer service to bring everything under one advisory structure with secure records and full provenance protection.
There are two possible fees when selling external wines:
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2 percent fee when selling to reinvest - If you sell external wines and reinvest the proceeds through Cellar Advisor, the fee is aligned with the rate for wines originally sourced through us.
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7 percent fee when selling to exit - If you sell external wines purely to liquidate and withdraw funds, the brokerage fee is 7 percent.
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This includes valuation, pricing strategy, buyer outreach, negotiation, settlement, and any LCB movements.
3. Transaction Cost Summary
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Selling wine purchased through Cellar Advisor (reinvest or exit): 2 percent
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Selling external wine when reinvesting: 2 percent
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Selling external wine when exiting: 7 percent
