UK: Carlsberg planning to shut Banks’s Brewery in Wolverhampton

Carlsberg’s UK venture Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) is planning to shut Banks’s Brewery in the English Midlands next year, Yahoo Finance reported on October 7.

CMBC pointed to two factors for the decision to close Wolverhampton-based Banks’s. It cited declining cask-ale volumes and a decision by Mahou San Miguel "not to renew its long-term exclusive licence partnership" from next year.

The UK venture, which Carlsberg has moved to fully acquire, said 97 employees will be affected by the closure.

Paul Davies, the CEO of CMBC, said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision. However, it has been necessary to restructure our business to maintain our competitiveness in a challenging UK beer market.

“The hard reality is that, because of the current climate for ale and Mahou San Miguel’s decision not to renew its exclusive production and distribution agreement with CMBC from the start of next year, we will have significant excess capacity across our brewery network which we have to address.”

In July, CMBC announced Anheuser-Busch InBev was to take over the production, distribution and promotion of San Miguel beers in the UK,

Announcing the closure of Banks’s today (7 October), CMBC said it will increase its investment in its breweries in Northampton and Burton. The funding will include more than £6m ($7.9m) at Burton, where CMBC will invest in its cask ale line, as well as developing the brewery’s capabilities for producing craft ales.

“While the proposed closure of our Wolverhampton brewery is very regrettable, with the significant investments we are making in our Northampton and Burton breweries, our strong portfolio of brands and industry-leading logistics network, CMBC will continue to deliver for our customers and focus on long-term growth,” Davies added.

Last year, CMBC set out plans to close its Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire, pointing to a competitive ale market and a “turbulent economic outlook” in the UK.

CMBC also sought to find a buyer for Ringwood Brewery last year but, by December, conceded it had been unable to strike a deal with a new owner for the site.

In June 2023, CMBC set out plans to put the brewery – as well as ale brands including Razorback, Old Thumper, Boondoggle and Fortyniner – on the market.

In May 2023, the company sold its already-closed London Fields Brewery and taproom to London pub operator Grace Land Group.

The year before, the venture sold Eagle Brewery to S.A. Damm, a deal that gave the Spanish group its first brewery in the UK.

CMBC also announced the winding down and closure of Jennings Brewery in September 2022. The Lake District facility in north-west England had been operating at below capacity and the group said it had seen a “significant decline in volumes” in recent years.

In July, Carlsberg announced plans to buy out UK pub-group Marston's from their CMBC venture.

The Danish giant is also in the process of acquiring UK soft-drinks group Britvic. Last month, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) called for comments on the proposed deal, with a deadline of 24 September.

"Banks’s to be next Carlsberg UK closure" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand.

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