The viral Welsh vodka firm Au Vodka is reportedly on the verge of a £500m sale to Sazerac, the owner of Southern Comfort and BuzzBallz. Sazerac confirmed to BBC Wales that it had agreed to buy the start-up, a deal first reported by Sky News, which is expected to net Swansea-based founders Charlie Morgan and Jackson Quinn over £100m each.

Morgan, a former Swansea City ball boy who achieved infamy in 2013 when he was kicked by Chelsea's Eden Hazard during a cup semi-final, and his childhood friend Quinn founded the company in 2015. The founders declined to discuss the deal, but Sazerac said the acquisition would allow it "to deepen its presence in the UK".

Two years after launching, the duo accepted investment from DJ Charlie Sloth, whose celebrity contacts brought valuable endorsements to their gold-coloured vodka bottles. YouTube star Jake Paul even got a tattoo of an Au Vodka bottle as part of a publicity stunt, while the bottles became a staple of poolside parties in Ibiza and Dubai. The company also developed ready-to-drink cans that kept the distinctive gold branding and became one of the most popular products on the market.

In 2025, they opened a new headquarters on an industrial estate in Swansea, converting an office block into a car park full of gold-wrapped cars, with a nine-hole mini golf course featuring golden obstacles and balls. Quite a journey for Morgan, whose early fame came at age 17 when Hazard kicked him during the 2013 match. Hazard was sent off for the incident at the Liberty Stadium and later apologised, but it sparked widespread debate among football fans about who was at fault. Ten years later, as Morgan's business boomed, he reunited with Hazard for a YouTube video where they laughed about the incident.

Despite the bling and celebrity bluster, Morgan and Quinn took a serious approach to business. Moving quickly into the ready-to-drink market as it boomed after the pandemic, Au Vodka became second only to BuzzBallz in the UK. Morgan told BBC Wales News in 2025 that he had his eyes on further expansion, particularly in the US. "If you asked a 25-year-old target market consumer in America, would they know Au? Probably not yet," he said. "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."

In 2025, however, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found Au Vodka broke rules by inappropriately aiming the alcohol at people under 18 in a social media promotion, banning an advert featuring a Love Island contestant from TikTok. Because nothing says 'responsible growth' like a ban for targeting minors.