Swansea-based spirits company Au Vodka is reportedly engaged in discussions regarding a potential £500 million sale to the owner of BuzzBallz. The company, founded in 2015 by childhood friends Charlie Morgan and Jackson Quinn, has experienced rapid expansion, becoming a prominent name in the ready-to-drink market.
Two years after its launch, Au Vodka secured investment from DJ Charlie Sloth, whose extensive celebrity contacts proved instrumental in garnering valuable endorsements for the brand's distinctive gold-coloured vodka bottles. These bottles have since become a common sight at poolside parties in popular destinations like Ibiza and Dubai, and YouTube personality Jake Paul notably sported a tattoo of an Au Vodka bottle as part of a publicity stunt.
In 2025, Au Vodka inaugurated its new headquarters on an industrial estate in its home city of Swansea. The facility transformed an office block into a car park filled with gold-wrapped vehicles, offering visitors a unique experience that included a nine-hole mini golf course adorned with golden obstacles and balls.
For co-founder Charlie Morgan, the company's journey represents a notable progression from his earlier brush with fame. At 17 years old in 2013, Morgan gained notoriety as a Swansea City ball boy when he was kicked by Chelsea's Eden Hazard during a cup semi-final match. The incident occurred at the Liberty Stadium as Hazard attempted to retrieve the ball from Morgan, appearing to make contact with the youngster while trying to kick the ball from under him. Hazard was subsequently sent off and later issued an apology, with the event sparking widespread debate among football enthusiasts, players, and pundits regarding culpability.
A decade later, as Au Vodka's business flourished, Morgan and Hazard reunited for a YouTube video, where they were seen laughing about the infamous incident.
Despite the brand's association with 'bling' and celebrity fanfare, Morgan and Quinn adopted a serious approach to their business. The company swiftly entered the ready-to-drink market, which boomed following the pandemic, and achieved a position as the second-largest brand in the UK, trailing only BuzzBallz.
In 2025, Morgan expressed his ambitions for further global reach, indicating aggressive expansion plans into the US market. He acknowledged the challenge, stating last year, "If you asked a 25-year-old target market consumer in America, would they know Au? Probably not yet. So there's still so many more people who don't know about us. And I think we're still driven to try and take over the world a little bit more."
