Buy-side Advisory — Supporting the buyer

Searching for a vineyard on a listings portal and mandating an M&A adviser to identify and secure an off-market acquisition are two unrelated approaches. The first gives access to what is already on the market; the second opens the door to estates that are not publicly for sale — often the best opportunities.

Buy-side Advisory means representing the buyer: framing the project, running a confidential screening, qualifying targets, conducting rigorous sector due diligence and structuring the deal through to closing. The buyer remains anonymous for as long as they wish; the firm carries the approach.

Our value lies in a technical reading of the vineyard and knowledge of the Champagne and Burgundy fabric: adviser network, weak signals of sale, command of rural-law constraints. We identify the risks of an acquisition; the buyer's dedicated advisers draw the legal and tax consequences.

Our buy-side methodology

1. Brief calibration — surface area, appellations, budget, operating project, asset horizon.
2. Off-market screening — network activation, weak-signal reading, discreet adviser outreach.
3. Qualified targets — structured files, first reads of value and feasibility.
4. Sector due diligence — technical and legal audit beyond the accounts.
5. Structuring & negotiation — vehicle choice, conditions precedent, term sheet, deal management.
6. Closing — coordinating the parties through to signing and handover.

Sector due diligence: what buyers underestimate

• Vineyard health status (wood diseases, viruses)
• Vine age, planting density, grape varieties
• Historical yields and consistency
• Farm leases in place: residual term, rent, clauses, tenant rights
• Plot mapping against the land registry
• Environmental certification (HVE, organic conversion)
• Planting rights and authorisations
• Condition and value of operating equipment

Structures supported

• Direct land acquisition
• Share deals (SCEV, GFA)
• Co-investor / operator structures
• GFV (vineyard land grouping)
• Acquisition with split ownership

Further reading

See the acquisition journey, our valuation & structuring approach and our references.