Au Vodka, a brand that has rapidly become one of the world’s most recognisable vodkas and propelled its owners into the ranks of the UK’s youngest multi-millionaires, has revealed its impressive new £3 million headquarters. The company’s move to a sprawling 30,000 square-foot facility in Swansea marks another milestone in its ongoing success story.
The workspace offers employees complimentary meals and drinks prepared by an in-house chef every day, as well as leisure amenities like pool and table tennis tables.
The site also features a mini golf course, table tennis tables, and a Guinness World Record-breaking 2.1 metre tall vodka bottle, reports WalesOnline.
The revamped premises also include public attractions and is expected to welcome visitors in two weeks’ time. A large shop will sell customers their favourite Au Vodka flavours, along with a range of products such as scented candles, glassware, air fresheners, cushions, coffee cups, gift sets, and more.
A unique visitor experience called ‘The Maze’ has been created, allowing groups to explore at intervals and learn about some of the brand’s key moments. Au Vodka has moved from a small location on an industrial estate, investing a seven-figure sum in construction and refurbishment, reports the Express.
Au Vodka, founded by pals Charlie Morgan, 29, and Jackson Quinn, 31, has made waves in the spirits industry since its debut in 2016. The brand is instantly recognisable by its eye-catching gold bottle and has experienced a meteoric rise from producing an initial run of around 2,000 bottles to an impressive annual sale of more than 1.6 million.
The brand’s new headquarters, brought to life with input from Ethan Cooze alongside the founders, boasts an opulent design. Guests are greeted with a luxurious golden elevator and lampshades made from Au bottles add to the gilded glamour, complemented by seating and tables bathed in gold tones.
In a nod to the brand’s success, the conference rooms pay homage to the best-selling flavours, reflecting the company’s pride in their product range.
Discussing the move with WalesOnline, Mr Morgan, who made The Sunday Times Rich List in 2024 as one of Britain’s wealthiest individuals under 40 with a £56m fortune, explained: “We were running at Cwmdu Industrial Estate, which was great for us, but we just outgrew the space. We’ve got more than 97 staff globally now and housing them all in a small unit was tough, but it was more things like parking spaces, toilets, that was the bigger issue.”
The individual described their search for the ideal headquarters, saying: “We’ve been looking around at different buildings for our new HQ and we wanted to be in Swansea, and it’s a hard thing to find, but this is exactly what we wanted. There’s loads of little details throughout the building, the brand is gold so we want to make sure we do as much gold as possible. We’ve got different features, so there’s the lab where people will be able to make their own bottle and make your own flavour. It will be the normal price of a normal bottle, but say for example you liked strawberry and banana flavour, you can go and do that, and also design your own unique label.”
They continued to describe the interactive elements they’re incorporating into the space: “We’ve got the maze where we’ll be running tours throughout the day, and where people can learn about our story, and a golf course as well, which is something we hope everyone will talk about and want to come and play. A big thing for us is creating something different.”
Further detailing their vision for a destination venue, they added: “We’ll have a bar for the public where we’ll sell Au, of course, but the plan is to have a coffee shop too where people can have a bit of coffee and cake, go to the store, play some golf, do the maze, and so on.
“It’s nice to have a premises like this. I think it explains the size of the brand as well. When we have visitors from America, Japan, and crazy far distances come to see us over here, they’ll feel the size of the brand.
“It’s probably one of our biggest milestone moments. When you get into new listings or stores or new countries, it’s a lot more tangible, you sell more bottles and see more trucks go out of the door, but it’s not a massive visual change, but here you can feel it, it’s a big difference.
“Everyone has loved it so far and have been really impressed. The staff are all loving it. We’ve got a chef now where our employees can have free food and drink, we’ve got table tennis and pool tables, there’s an XBox upstairs as well. We do things a little differently, our aim is for people to work hard, play hard. It’s about making it a nice place for people to want to come and work.”