UK: End of an era as Wolves & Dudley change its name to Marston's

Wolverhampton & Dudley, one of the oldest names in brewing, is to end nearly 120 years of history by changing its name to Marston's, The Daily Telegraph, Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge reported January 24.

The company, founded in 1890, is one of the few to have survived unscathed since Queen Victoria's reign, despite various upheavals in the brewing and pub industry.

Ralf Findlay, the chief executive, had no regrets about changing the name. "You think carefully about these things. But we will be able to advertise much more easily by having one single name above the pub door.''

All of its 2,352 pubs will adopt the name of Marston's, with which Wolves & Dudley fought a bitter hostile takeover battle.

Wolves & Dudley finally won control in 1999, only after it had defeated a retaliatory bid from Marston's itself.

Beer historians should not mourn too much, however.

Marston's history stretches even further back than its parent company. It was founded in 1834 when John Marston built his brewery in Burton-upon-Trent - a move that was to help the Midlands town become the brewing capital of the world by the end of that century.

The name change came as it announced a return of pounds 100m to shareholders via a buyback, after the company could not find any suitable acquisitions.

Mr. Findlay echoed comments made last month by Ted Tuppen, the chief executive of Enterprise Inns, that prices for pubs were reaching an unsustainable peak.

"We are skeptical about some of the returns people will reap from these investments,'' he said, referring to a flurry of pub deals in recent months.

He insisted the share buyback was not part of a pre-emptive defense against any takeover attempt.

"In a consolidating market all sorts of things can happen but we are in a strong position,'' he said.

The company reported a solid set of results, with pre-tax profits increasing to pounds 102m from pounds 54.2m, helped by the absence of last year's exceptional financing costs. Underlying pre-tax profits rose 13.2pc.

Trading has been particularly strong since the end of September, with sales up 9.1pc in its managed estate, due to higher food sales.

The company is also planning a four-for-one share split which it said would increase liquidity of the stock.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .