Matthew Clark is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

-based drinks

distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark plugs ...

, owned by

C&C Group C&C Group plc (known prior to its flotation as Cantrell & Cochrane Limited) is an Irish manufacturer, marketer and distributor of alcoholic drinks, particularly cider, and soft drinks. It has production facilities across Ireland, Great Britain ...

. Founded in 1810, the business primarily serves

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s, bars and

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

s within the mainland UK.

History

Matthew Clark, 1786-1868, founder of Matthew Clark & Sons

The company was formed in 1810 by Matthew Clark, the son of Charles Clark, Inspector General of Imported Liquors and Distillery at the

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Sea ...

and later Merchants' Gauger of wines and spirits for the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

merchants. It was known for most of its history as a City of London wine and spirit importer called Matthew Clark and Sons. Six generations of the Clark/Gordon Clark family worked in it while it was an independent company. It was originally based in

Great Tower Street Great Tower Street, originally known just as Tower Street, is a street in the City of London, the historic nucleus and modern financial centre of London. It forms an eastern continuation of Eastcheap starting at Idol Lane, and leads towards Bywa ...

, then from 1925 at 14 Trinity Square,

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

, from 1956 at

Walbrook Walbrook is a City ward and a minor street in its vicinity. The ward is named after a river of the same name. The ward of Walbrook contains two of the City's most notable landmarks: the Bank of England and the Mansion House. The street runs ...

House, and from 1972 at the

Finsbury Finsbury is a district of Central London, forming the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Islington. It borders the City of London. The Manor of Finsbury is first recorded as ''Vinisbir'' (1231) and means "manor of a man called Finn ...

Distillery, the premises of the firm of that name, manufacturers of Stone's

Ginger wine Ginger wine is a fortified wine often made from a fermented blend of ginger, raisins, sugar and yeast, that is often fortified by being blended with brandy. It is one of the main ingredients of the Whisky Mac cocktail. Ginger wine originate ...

, taken over in 1964. The Leeds-based firm of J. E. Mather, manufacturer of "Barchester British Wine", was taken over 1965-7. But the main business of the firm was that of representing foreign companies, principally from 1814 J. & F. Martell of

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

, the great French brandy house, John

DeKuyper DeKuyper Royal Distillers () is a privately held Dutch company in the business of manufacturing and marketing distilled spirits and liqueurs. The company was founded in 1695 by Petrus De Kuyper as a manufacturer of barrels and casks used in t ...

& Son of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

, manufacturers of gin, by 1827, and up to 1925

Pedro Domecq Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

, the sherry producers of

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

. The archives of the firm were deposited in the

Guildhall Library The Guildhall Library is a public reference library specialising in subjects relevant to London. It is administered by the Corporation of London, the government of the City of London, which is the historical heart of London, England. The library ...

and are now in the

London Metropolitan Archives The London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) is the principal local government archive repository for the Greater London area, including the City of London: it is the largest county record office in the United Kingdom. It was established under its pr ...

; they are of considerable interest for the history of the wine and spirit trade in the 19th and early 20th century. In 1990, after listing on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

, the company began acquiring other drinks manufacturers and distributors, including: *Grants of St James's *

Gaymer Cider Company The Gaymer Cider Company produced and marketed cider. It has been owned by C&C Group since 2010. However, the Gaymer brand is no longer used and the business has been consolidated into the parent company. History It is unknown when the Gaymer famil ...

Taunton Cider Company The Taunton Cider Company was a cider producer, based in Norton Fitzwarren, north west of the county town of Taunton, Somerset, England. The company is best known for being the developer and producer of Blackthorn Cider, now produced by Gaymer Cid ...

*Freetraders *Dunn and Moore *Griersons In 1998, Matthew Clark plc was acquired by

Constellation Brands Constellation Brands, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is an American producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits. Constellation is the largest beer import company in the US, measured by sales, and has the third-largest market share (7.4 percen ...

Inc of the United States. In 2002, the company acquired Forth Wines. In 2007 Constellation sold a 50% stake to

Punch Taverns Punch Pubs & Co is a pub and bar operator in the United Kingdom, with around 1,300 leased pubs. It is headquartered in the traditional brewing centre of Burton upon Trent in Staffordshire. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constit ...

. In 2010, the cider businesses were sold to

C&C Group plc C&C Group plc (known prior to its flotation as Cantrell & Cochrane Limited) is an Irish manufacturer, marketer and distributor of alcoholic drinks, particularly cider, and soft drinks. It has production facilities across Ireland, Great Britain ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, leaving Matthew Clark as an alcohol wholesaler. In January 2011,

Inc divested 80% of its European business, Constellation Europe, along with its sister company,

Constellation Wines Australia Accolade Wines is an international wine business with headquarters in South Australia and corporate offices in Melbourne. It has been owned by The Carlyle Group, an American private equity company, since 2018. Accolade, which predominantly uses ...

, to Australian private equity company, CHAMP Private Equity. Subsequently, in 2011 Constellation Europe and

together became

Accolade Wines Accolade Wines is an international wine business with headquarters in South Australia and corporate offices in Melbourne. It has been owned by The Carlyle Group, an American private equity company, since 2018. Accolade, which predominantly uses ...

. In October 2015, Accolade Wines and Punch Taverns sold their respective 50% holdings to Conviviality plc in a £200 million deal. Matthew Clark operated within the 'Conviviality Direct' business unit which, along with the Bibendum brand, served over 23,000 outlets, consisting of national chains to independent food-led pubs and restaurants. In March 2018, Conviviality said it faced bankruptcy unless it could raise £125m, as it issued its third profits warning in a month. It failed to do so, and at the end of March, Conviviality announced its intention to appoint administrators within a fortnight, putting 2,600 jobs across the group at risk. Conviviality Direct, including Matthew Clark and Bibendum, was sold to

in April 2018 as part of a 'pre-pack' administration deal.

Operations

Matthew Clark is currently based in Bristol, where its Head Office is located. It has a sales force of over 230 employees deployed across the country. Matthew Clark offers a range of over 7,000 alcohol lines with next day delivery.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Drink companies of England Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange Beer in England Wholesalers of the United Kingdom Food and drink companies established in 1810 Food and drink companies of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1810 1810 establishments in England