According to reports, the French Champagne house, Vranken-Pommery Monopole, has been given the go-ahead by a French commercial court in Reims to acquire some of the assets of the Martin Bricout Delbeck group which is currently in receivership.

Vranken-Pommery will acquire six hectares of vineyards and will take over the group’s nine-year supply contracts for in excess of 150 hectares of vineyards. In addition, Vranken will buy a specialised production unit, 5m bottles in stocks and its brand portfolio.

Some 20 production staff will move with the sale, along with 68 administrative staff, the reports said. The sale is expected to increase Vranken-Pommery Monopole’s sales by around 10%.