Independent wine merchant Nickolls & Perks has bought Wine Collector, an online portfolio management platform for wine collectors, traders and investors.

Wine Owners, a provider of software platforms specifically designed for the wine industry, initially developed Wine Collector in 2013. Its chief executive Nick Martin says now is the perfect time for the consumer-facing side of the business to find a new home.

“Our business has changed beyond recognition,” explains Martin, “and now pretty much everything that we do is for businesses and not for consumers.

“Nickolls & Perks sell wine to lots of people, that’s their business, and they’re great at supporting the needs of consumers and wine collectors.

“They’re super excited to take it on and it feels like absolutely the right thing to do, because we probably shouldn’t be both business management software, providing the platform for wine merchants and retailers to run their businesses, at the same time as having relationships with the sort of people that they want to have relationships with.”

The handover will take place on April 3.

Will Gardener, managing director at Stourbridge-based Nickolls & Perks, says: “Wine Collector clients can expect much of the same. We will work hard with the support of Nick and his team, to build on the considerable success of this best-in-class, private client fine wine management and trading exchange.”

Established in 1797, Nickolls & Perks claims to be the 1,520th oldest company in the world.