United Kingdom: CAMRA seeks to block takeover of Jennings Brewery

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) announced on April 27 it is calling on thousands of shareholders to reject the offer made by Wolverhampton and Dudley plc for Jennings Brewery in Cumbria. CAMRA is acting to convince shareholders that their longer-term interests will be better served through the independence of Cumbria's biggest brewer and is building support for an EGM.

The consumer group fears that, despite assurances from W&DB to keep the Jennings Brewery open, future changes in market conditions could lead to its loss. At its AGM last weekend, CAMRA members voted unanimously to oppose a takeover of Jennings. CAMRA Investment Club, which holds 1.25% of shares, has pledged to lead the way by rejecting the bid.

Mike Benner, Chief Executive, said, "Despite W&DB's assurances to keep the Cockermouth brewery open, I think the only way to guarantee the future of the brewery is to defend its independence as a vertically integrated company. It has performed very well in recent years, despite the nightmare of foot & mouth disease four years ago. The strategy since then has made its pubs and beer brands very strong and successful."

CAMRA says that the W&DB bid can be fought off if enough shareholders reject the offer. W&DB claims cost savings of £2 million will be made, but it is unclear how this will be achieved. Jennings has achieved a third successive year of double digit percentage growth in pre-tax profits having concentrated on high quality leased pubs and beer brands.

Mr Benner added, "The fate of Jennings does not lie in the hands of an elite of fund managers whose decisions are influenced by purely short-term financial considerations. There are thousands of individual shareholders and we are confident that many will care about local heritage and a long-established independent brewer."

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