"WiV makes it simple to invest in wine, and now we are making it easier to use wine as collateral for business loans."
Working in partnership with SME lender Fiduciam, WiV Finance has secured a €100m line of credit and can now support businesses with collections of fine and investment-grade wine valued at around €1 million as collateral.
WiV estimates there is fine wine worth around $80bn held in bond and private cellars which could be used as collateral to help businesses grow.
WiV says is not unusual to have a wine collection stored in one country, owned by someone from a different country that wants a loan to support a business in a third country, and is asking for a loan that is guaranteed by someone in a fourth.
Its platform therefore provides an accurate account of how much wine is held in a specific collection, giving all parties involved in an agreement confidence to support the loan.
WiV says it is now in the process of raising funds to bolster the platform as it moves into the next phase of its development.
Tommy Nordam Jensen, CEO and founder of WiV, commented: “The WiV platform has made something that would previously have been prohibitively complicated relatively simple. It’s another example of how our system can make it possible for a wider variety of investors to be involved in the wine industry. We work as an independent party supporting wine merchants, negociants, brokers and château.
“WiV makes it simple to invest in wine, and now we are making it easier to use wine as collateral for business loans. Offering this facility underlines our philosophy of making the wine industry more liquid so that it can continue to grow efficiently.”
Johan Groothaert, CEO and founder of Fiduciam, added: “We are looking forward to working with WiV as its blockchain solution makes it easier to take wine as collateral and reduces the overall risk profile of the wine held as security. We are eager to provide loans secured over fine wine in cooperation with WiV.”
