The Whisky Exchange has named Nick Larsson-Bell as its new buying director and Freeman Ho as head of auction, strengthening its senior team with two hires who collectively hold more than 35 years’ experience across spirits buying, retail, collecting and auction. The appointments were confirmed on 29 October 2026, with Larsson-Bell set to start on 9 November and Ho having joined on 1 October after relocating from Hong Kong to London.
Larsson-Bell will take over from Dawn Davies and report to managing director Natalie Tennent as part of the leadership team. His remit covers buying, supply chain, old & rare and own label.
His 25-year drinks career began behind the bar in London before moving through retail, store leadership and commercial roles. For the past eight years he has worked at Harvey Nichols, most recently as senior buyer across the retailer’s entire drinks portfolio.
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READ THE STORYLarsson-Bell was named Retail Buyer of the Year 2022 and judges regularly for the IWSC, ISC, Great Taste, LSC and the Spirits Masters.
Ho, meanwhile, leads the auction team across every stage of the process, from valuation through to sale. In his previous role at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, he ran the auction house’s spirits sales from 2023 to 2026, overseeing roughly £20m of whisky and Moutai.
A whisky collector for the past decade, Ho is also a BJCP Certified Beer Judge with international competition experience. He co-hosts WhiskyNow!, an annual old & rare whisky festival in Hong Kong that launched in 2019 and draws around 1,000 attendees each year.
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Fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English, Ho is positioned to build ties with collectors across Asia and further afield.
Natalie Tennent, managing director of The Whisky Exchange, said: “Our people are what set The Whisky Exchange apart, and Nick and Freeman are two of the most knowledgeable and respected people in their fields.”
She added: “Whether someone is choosing their first single malt or bidding on a rare release at auction, they should know that the advice behind it comes from genuine experts. These appointments are a clear statement of our commitment to bringing the very best spirits and experiences to our customers, and I’m thrilled to welcome them both to the team.”
The retailer, founded in 1999 by brothers Sukhinder and Rajbir Singh, was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2021.
