Documents reveal that Majestic Wine acquired the Vagabond Wines business out of administration for £6.5 million.

As part of the deal, Majestic purchased nine of Vagabond’s bars in London and Birmingham in April, securing 171 jobs.

Vagabond, known for offering over 100 wines by the glass through self-pour machines, appointed administrators Quantuma in March after facing financial difficulties due to debts accumulated during the pandemic and the closure of its popular Heathrow Airport bar.

The majority of Vagabond's locations were sold to Majestic, marking the wine retailer's first venture into the hospitality sector.

According to the administrators' report, Vagabond's remaining two bars at Gatwick Airport were sold to privately-run Airport Retail Enterprises (UK) Ltd for £400,000 in June.

All 122 Gatwick staff were transferred to the new owners, and the sale also facilitated the return of a £662,000 rent deposit from the landlord.

During the administration process, secured creditors, including Coutts bank, were fully repaid, and no employees were made redundant.

However, Vagabond's 'underperforming' bar in Canary Wharf was excluded from the sale and has since closed.