UK: W&DB's acquisition of Jennings is complete

Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, PLC (W&DB) announced on June 10 that its acquisition of Jennings, the Lake District brewer and leased pub company, is complete.

In a briefing session Stephen Oliver, Managing Director for The Union Pub Company (W&DB's tenanted and leased arm) praised Jennings' staff for their positive approach and support throughout the process.

Stephen, who has overall responsibility for the integration of the two businesses, said: "The Jennings estate is a outstanding geographical fit for us. We have made an important commitment to keeping its Cockermouth brewery open. The acquisition represents a great opportunity to develop Jennings' beers in Cumbria and the North West as well as through W&DB's existing estate."

There are 131 leased and tenanted pubs in the Jennings estate and key beer brands include the award-winning Cocker Hoop, Cumberland Ale, Sneck Lifter and the seasonal Crag Rat.

W&DB and Jennings both recognise that brewing is an art. For example, Jennings still use pure Lakeland water, which is drawn from the brewery's own well and only the finest ingredients are added, including malt made from Maris Otter barley and grown in Norfolk, Golden hops from Kent and Fuggles hops from Herefordshire.

Alistair Darby, Managing Director of WDB Brands sums up: "We are really excited about adding the Jennings portfolio to our already strong regional ale brands. Part of Jennings' success has been built on the fact that they have retained their traditional family values, which date back to 1828, but at the same time adopted a modern, commercial approach. We can now build on this further and use our wider distribution network to grow sales of Jennings' beers."

UPC's Finance Director Gary Smith is based in Cockermouth to help merge the two companies.

Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, PLC is the UK's leading independent brewing and pub retailing business. It operates three breweries - Park Brewery in Wolverhampton (brewing Banks's, Hanson's and Mansfield beers), Marston's Brewery at Burton on Trent and Jennings Brewery at Cockermouth in the Lake District. Our pub estate totals over 2,250 pubs - 1,700 tenancies within The Union Pub Company and 550 directly managed by Pathfinder Pubs. We brew some of the UK's leading ale brands including Marston's Pedigree, Banks's Bitter, Banks's Original, and Mansfield Bitter. Our award-winning ales collected five international brewing medals at the Millenium International Brewing Awards. Key developments in the last decade have enabled The Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, PLC to position itself as the UK's premier regional brewer.

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