We caught up with previous Captain of College William Kelley (07) to discuss the new fine wine venture he’s set up with his friend, James McCormac. Having spent a decade in accounting and corporate finance as a chartered accountant, Will always knew he wanted to get into the food and drink industry so when he was approached by James in 2021 to do this, he jumped at the opportunity.

Having turned the idea into reality, they now operate from a shop just off the King’s Road in Chelsea, London selling single bottles of the world’s finest wines on demand. They are quickly building a reputation for having one of the finest wine lists in London with prices per bottle ranging from £50 to £2,500 and an ever-increasing loyal customer base who love the concept. Will revealed customers want to try a bottle before making a larger investment decision, to check how their wines under bond are aging by opening a bottle from the shop without having to break a case; to gift a bottle to a client, colleague, friend, or family or simply to drink a special bottle with friends.

William is passionate about the business, and we enjoyed hearing about his plans. If you would like to find out more. The Perfect Bottle are currently raising investment (using the EIS tax incentive platform) for the next stage of its development, please email Will on finance@theperfectbottle.com for further details. They are circulating their teaser document and pitch deck to potential investors this month and next and hope to close the round by the end of July 2023.

Many of the skills Will picked up at Churcher’s have helped him to get to where he is, from taking part in Young Enterprise, learning Geography from the resident Mr Nighy and Mrs Dixon (amongst other great teachers) to building resilience and determination from taking part in events like Ten Tors and Devizes to Westminster.

The Perfect Bottle often put on tastings so if you’d like to do one with friends, let him know at the email above.

We believe the website is going live imminently. Stay tuned.