What Liv-ex does

Liv-ex is a privately held, London-headquartered operator of a global B2B exchange for fine wine, founded in 2000 by stockbrokers James Miles and Justin Gibbs. The company runs a 24/7 live marketplace where vetted wine merchants, traders, négociants, ecommerce platforms, and investment businesses anonymously buy and sell fine wines, with each bid and offer representing a firm commitment. Around the core Exchange, Liv-ex layers modular services: Market Intelligence (analyst reports and indices including the Liv-ex 50, 100, and 1000), Logistics (end-to-end transportation, authentication, bonded storage, and settlement as a single point of contact), Automation (APIs for trading integration, pricing data, and product data feeds), and LWIN (a universal wine identification standard covering 200,000+ wines and spirits, distributed free under Creative Commons). The company also offers Bordeaux En Primeur analysis covering 130+ brands each campaign. The technology foundation is a 25-year proprietary transactional dataset (live since 2000, with 20 million pricing data lines processed daily and auction data from major houses), integrated critic-score APIs, and ERP/ecommerce integration capabilities. Liv-ex is explicitly independent: it does not hold stock, does not trade on its own account, and does not permit advertising on the Exchange — a positioning designed to preserve data integrity and member trust.

Commercially, Liv-ex operates a multi-stream revenue model anchored by membership subscriptions (typical entry package at £600/month with bespoke enterprise tiers and a 12-month minimum contract), supplemented by trading-related fees, managed logistics/settlement services, API and data redistribution licensing (including AI/ML licensing), and LWIN services (priced at £10 per LWIN creation, £20 priority, £1/line for list matching). Go-to-market is sales-led and consultative, with regional account managers across the UK, US, France, and broader Europe, supplemented by API-first onboarding for automation customers and event-driven engagement (Vinexpo, Bordeaux En Primeur, industry podcasts). The customer base of 500+ vetted members spans 42+ countries and is structurally diversified across merchants, ecommerce platforms, investment businesses, and producers, with private collectors explicitly excluded from trading. The company is founder-controlled, bootstrapped (no external funding rounds disclosed), and operates a structured executive team including a CCO, CPTO, CFO, and Heads of Broking, European Markets, Global Operations, Market Intelligence, Data, and Finance, alongside non-executive directors with marketplace and venture capital backgrounds.

Name

Liv-ex

Legal name

Liv-ex Limited

Website

https://liv-ex.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Liv-ex operates a global B2B exchange and 25-year transactional data platform for fine wine, serving 500+ vetted merchants, traders, ecommerce platforms, and investment businesses across 42+ countries via membership subscriptions, trading, logistics, and APIs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Wine Exchange & Market Data

NAICS

Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (424820)

SIC

Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)

akta.pro primary industry

Alcohol Brokers, Agents & Route-to-Market Services (CRAOAIAC)

Keywords

• Fine wine exchange
• Wine market data
• Wine trading platform
• Wine price indices
• Wine logistics services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: Monthly membership fees providing access to transactional exchange data, market data, list uploads, pricing tools, dedicated support, and logistics/settlement support. Typical starting package at £600/month with one-off joining fee and 12-month minimum contract.
2. Trading Platform Transaction Fees: Revenue from facilitating wine trades between members through the Exchange. Members can buy and sell with guaranteed stock availability and firm commitments.
3. Logistics and Settlement Services: Handling of wine transportation, verification, authentication, storage in bonded warehouses, and settlement between buyers and sellers as single point of contact.
4. Automation and Data Integration Services: Fees for API access, automation integration services, and data redistribution including republishing, derived data, financial products, and AI/ML licensing.
5. LWIN Services: Premium LWIN services including creation at £10/LWIN, priority creation at £20/LWIN, and list matching at £1/line, with minimum invoice charge of £250 for bespoke work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Liv-ex operates a global B2B online exchange for fine wine, providing a 24/7 trading marketplace where vetted wine merchants, traders, and investment businesses can buy and sell with anonymous, firm commitments. The platform is built on 25+ years of proprietary transactional pricing data and is layered with complementary services including Market Intelligence reports, Logistics and settlement handling, Automation APIs, the LWIN universal wine identifier, and price-tracking indices.

Product overview

Liv-ex operates as a unified fine wine exchange platform combining a core marketplace with modular services. The central offering is The Liv-ex Exchange, a 24/7 trading platform where members can buy and sell fine wine. Around this core, Liv-ex layers five key modules: Market Intelligence (analysis and reports), Logistics (transportation and authentication), Automation (API-based integrations for trading, pricing, and product data), LWIN (universal wine identification codes), and Indices (price tracking benchmarks). Membership provides tiered access to these components, with the Exchange and data access forming the foundation while Logistics and Automation serve as增值 services for operational efficiency.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Liv-ex Exchange The central fine wine trading marketplace enabling vetted members to price, buy, and sell wines 24/7, with anonymous transactions, firm commitments, and real-time bid/offer matching backed by historic pricing data. Targeted at fine wine merchants, traders, investment businesses, and ecommerce wine retailers.
• Market Intelligence Expert analysis and insights for fine wine businesses, including personalised monthly reports, weekly in-depth market analysis, and extended regional reports covering major wine regions. Provides competitive edge for strategic decision-making.
• Logistics
• Automation (API and Integration Services)
• LWIN (Liv-ex Wine Identification Number)
• Liv-ex Indices
• Liv-ex Membership
• Bordeaux En Primeur Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Time savings: 5,000 lines per minute for valuations
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Robert Parker Wine AdvocatecoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partner for critic scores and tasting notes delivery via API. Enables members to automatically integrate critic scores into internal systems and ecommerce listings.
• Jancis RobinsoncoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partner for critic scores via new API. Automatic integration of scores and tasting notes from JancisRobinson.com into member systems.
• Vinous (incl. Neal Martin)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partner for critic scores delivery. Neal Martin's coverage included in Vinous integration.
• Inside Bordeaux (incl. Jane Anson)coreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partner for critic scores from Inside Bordeaux publication and Jane Anson's wine ratings.
• The Wine PalatecoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partner for critic scores delivery via automation services.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Berry Bros. & Rudd: Historic London-based fine wine merchant that operates retail, cellar management and proprietary inventory tools, sharing Liv-ex's UK heritage and merchant customer base, and overlapping on data, logistics and En Primeur campaigns.
• Benchmark Wine Group: Large fine wine retailer in the US that uses Liv-ex's guaranteed-stock model to deliver broader SKU depth than its physical inventory, a benchmark Liv-ex merchant customer and a direct competing channel to Liv-ex's trader base.
• Christie's Wine: Christie's wine department runs major fine wine auctions alongside private client brokerage, mirroring Liv-ex's authentication, storage and settlement capabilities across the secondary fine wine market.
• Sotheby's Wine: Auction house with a global fine wine marketplace, authentication, bonded storage and private sales function, competing directly for secondary-market liquidity and quality-assured fine wine flows with Liv-ex members.
• Wine-Searcher: Global wine price comparison and search engine aggregating merchant offers and auction prices, the most direct competitor to Liv-ex on transparent, transactional pricing data for fine wine, though it does not operate a live trading venue.
• Acker Merrall & Condit: Largest US fine wine auction house with retail and cellar trading operations, directly overlapping with Liv-ex Exchange for high-end secondary fine wine liquidity in the US market.

Emerging players

• Vinfolio: US-focused fine wine storage, brokerage and online retail platform that competes for trader share and integrates with Liv-ex market data, an emerging marketplace player in the secondary fine wine category.
• CellarTracker: Largest consumer/professional wine collection database with optional valuation and price input features, emerging as a complementary data node that competes for collection-level insight that Liv-ex also addresses via Market Intelligence.
• Vinous (Vinous Media): Critic scoring and editorial data platform for fine wine now integrated via Liv-ex APIs, sharing the same merchant and collector audience and shaping the score data that flows through Liv-ex's automation services.

Broad incumbents

• Wine Spectator: Established mainstream wine media brand with ratings, market coverage and direct merchant partnerships, a broader incumbent offering editorial reach and pricing content that overlaps with some Liv-ex Market Intelligence use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/liv-ex
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@liv-ex
• Xx.com/Livex
• Facebookfacebook.com/Livex.Fine.Wine.Exchange

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Liv-ex