Who Owns Au Vodka?
Au Vodka is still controlled by its founders, Charlie Morgan and Jackson Quinn — and is being sold to Sazerac, the American drinks group behind Fireball and BuzzBallz, in a deal reported at around £500m and announced in August 2026. Companies House does not show Sazerac anywhere yet. What it does show is a change on 14 August 2026 that looks like the founders leaving and is not. Ownership verified 6 September 2026.
Who owns the Au Vodka brand?
The company is AU VODKA LTD (09470442), incorporated 4 March 2015 and still registered at Central Business Park, Swansea Vale, Swansea — the brand has stayed in the city it started in.
Its person with significant control is JAQ Holdings Limited (13636990), holding 75% or more since 3 November 2023. JAQ is a set of initials: Jackson Aaron Quinn, one of the two founders.
Parent company and ultimate owner
Above the vodka company sits a five-step structure, all of it registered at the same Swansea address:
- Au Vodka Ltd (09470442)
- JAQ Holdings Limited (13636990)
- Aurous Bidco Limited (15240974) — incorporated 27 October 2023
- Aurous Midco Limited (15239964) — incorporated 26 October 2023
- Aurous Topco Limited (15239780) — incorporated 26 October 2023
At the top, two controllers: Goldhold Partners Limited (17335881) with more than 50% but less than 75%, notified 14 August 2026, and Bacchus Jvco Limited (15239181) with more than 25% but not more than 50%, notified 26 October 2023.
Even the names follow the branding. Aurous means “of gold” — Au is the chemical symbol for gold, which is the whole idea behind the bottles. Bacchus is the Roman god of wine. Someone enjoyed naming this structure.
Brand owner vs operating company
Au Vodka Ltd holds the trading business. The Aurous companies were all incorporated within two days of each other in October 2023 to take in outside investment: Bacchus Jvco’s 25–50% stake dates from that week and represents the private equity money that came in to fund expansion.
Goldhold Partners is the founders’ own vehicle. Its PSC register names Charles Elliot Morgan and Jackson Aaron Quinn, each at more than 25% but not more than 50%, notified 13 July 2026.
When the ownership changed
The register reads as a clean history of a business growing up:
- 6 April 2016 — Morgan and Quinn each recorded directly on Au Vodka Ltd at 25–50%. Two founders, equal shares.
- 15 October 2021 — both cease; MQ Holdings Limited (13639537) takes over. Another set of initials. That company was later dissolved, on 25 February 2025.
- 3 November 2023 — JAQ Holdings replaces MQ Holdings, and the Aurous structure appears above it as outside investment arrives.
- 14 August 2026 — Morgan and Quinn both cease as controllers of Aurous Topco, and Goldhold Partners is notified in their place.
That last entry is the one to be careful with. Read alone, two founders ceasing on the same day looks like an exit. It is not: Goldhold Partners, the company that replaced them, is owned by the same two men, recorded there a month earlier. They reorganised their holding into a joint vehicle; they did not sell it. Cessation on a PSC register means a person stopped meeting the conditions at that company, not that they walked away.
The genuine change is the one the register has not caught up with. In August 2026 Sazerac announced a binding agreement to acquire Au Vodka, at a valuation reported by industry press at around £500m, with completion expected within weeks. Until that completes and is filed, Companies House still shows founder control.
Related brands in the same group
Once the Sazerac deal completes, Au Vodka joins a portfolio including Fireball, Southern Comfort, Buffalo Trace and BuzzBallz — the third ready-to-drink acquisition Sazerac has made in about eighteen months.
The broadcaster and DJ Charlie Sloth invested in the business in its early years and has been involved as a shareholder and director. That is a stake in the company, not ownership of the brand, and he has never appeared as a person with significant control.
Sources and verification
Every company number, notification date and cessation above is from the Companies House register, including the 13 July and 14 August 2026 entries that show the founders’ holding moving rather than ending.
The Sazerac acquisition and the £500m figure are from company announcements and trade press. Sazerac itself said terms would not be disclosed, so the valuation is a reported figure attributed to unnamed industry sources — treat it as an estimate. Because this deal is live, the register is likely to change: recheck company 09470442 before relying on this page. Companies House does not verify most filed information.
Sources and verification
Ownership last verified .