New wine bar and tasting house opens

A Birmingham-based luxury wine bar and tasting house has today opened its third bricks and mortar retail shop in Knowle, Solihull, after securing an £80,000 loan from HSBC UK.

Loki Wine used the funding to revamp an empty run-down 1,600 sq.ft. retail unit to create a sleek, ultra-high-end wine bar and tasting house on Station Road in Solihull town centre. The new shop will offer customers 32 high-quality, single varietal wines.

Since its inception in 2012, Loki Wine has delivered an innovative in-store retail experience for customers with a ‘try, sample and discover’ business model. An experiential-led approach which, combined with a passionate 25-strong team of wine connoisseurs and an array of fine wines from around the globe, has led to the retailer’s continued growth and expansion across the West Midlands.

As well as its growing physical retail offering, Loki Wine has diversified during the pandemic to create an online retail service. It includes a series of virtual tastings delivered by wine experts from across the globe, including the prestigious Chateau Musar in Lebanon. The business expects its online business – which contributed to one per cent of its annual turnover before the pandemic – to grow to 40 per cent post-Covid.

Phil Innes, owner of Loki Wine, said: “Opening our third venue this month to coincide with the reopening of indoor hospitality has been an extraordinary experience and certainly wouldn’t have been possible without support from HSBC UK, and in particular our Relationship Manager, Dan Pawar. At Loki Wine, we’re passionate about Britain’s high streets and wholeheartedly believe that despite the boom of online shopping during the pandemic, our town centres will continue to play a crucial role in society and, most importantly, British culture post-Covid.”

Ian Coulson, HSBC UK area director for Greater Birmingham, said: “It’s been an extraordinary challenging year for retail, but what’s refreshing is Loki Wine’s commitment and confidence in our local high streets. The team has worked hard to get to this point and deliver a third, high-end wine shop and bar in Birmingham. We wish them the best of luck for the future.”

Pictured: Phil Innes