London-based fintech startup WineFi has announced the successful completion of a £1.5 million (approximately $2 million) Seed funding round, led by British fine wine specialist Coterie Holdings. Additional participation came from SFC Capital, Founders Capital, and a syndicate of angel investors.
Founded by former Fidelity International and J.P. Morgan asset managers Oliver Thorpe and Callum Woodcock, WineFi operates a data-driven platform designed to provide high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional investors with structured access to fine wine investments.
WineFi plans to use the new capital to enhance its proprietary analytics tools and broaden its offering of diversified, professionally curated wine portfolios. The company highlighted that traditional wine investing often suffers from a lack of transparency and standardized data—a gap it seeks to bridge through its platform.
By enabling co-investment in curated baskets of wines with minimum commitments starting at £3,000, WineFi aims to open fine wine investments to a wider range of investors, particularly at a time of heightened market volatility.
In a strategic move to improve liquidity and transparency, WineFi has also partnered with digital asset provider Lympid to fractionalize fine wine assets through a blockchain-enabled platform. This collaboration will allow clients to buy and sell shares in fine wine more efficiently, the company said.
As part of its investment, Coterie Holdings has taken a strategic stake in WineFi and will appoint its chief executive officer, Michael Saunders, to WineFi’s board. Saunders, who brings over 40 years of experience in the fine wine sector, said the partnership blends “deep wine expertise with modern financial tools to make this historically compelling asset class more accessible to sophisticated investors.”
Thorpe and Woodcock noted that the fresh funding will accelerate the development of enhanced valuation models and the integration of real-time market data feeds. They aim to position WineFi as a bridge between traditional fine wine markets and institutional-grade financial infrastructure, tapping into rising demand for alternative investments.
WineFi’s fundraising comes amid growing investor interest in diversifying portfolios beyond traditional asset classes such as equities and bonds, reflecting a broader trend of fintech platforms democratizing access to luxury investment opportunities.
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