Black Sheep Brewery has followed its parent company in filing a notice of intention to appoint administrators.
The brewery is part of Keystone Brewing Group, which filed its own such notice at the end of November. Keystone started out as capital investment outfit BrealGroup. It has purchased Black Sheep and Purity breweries, among others, over the past couple of years, as well as brewery brands, such as North.
In October, Keystone announced it would brew and distribute Hong Kong-based Gweilo beers. It also makes and distributes beers from Hofmeister, Big Drop, Magic Rock, Fourpure, and Brew By Numbers.
• Urban Pubs & Bars has announced its strongest Christmas trading performance on record, with like-for-like sales growth of 14.5% and a 40% increase in total covers
“The energy across the business continues to be fantastic, and this performance is a huge credit to our teams,” said managing director Chris Hill.
“Finishing the year so strongly puts us in a brilliant position as we head into the new year.”
• Brewer and pub owner J W Lees has reported record Christmas sales, with managed houses leading the charge.
Over the six-week trading period retail sales were up 9.9%, with drinks up 8.4% and food 10.4%.
“Our team executed Christmas extremely well, with both events and walk-ins performing well,” said J W Lees managing director William Lees-Jones.
“In some ways, it was a perfect storm, with Christmas Day falling on a Thursday and no snow or named storms in the festive period – and there was probably some relief after the chancellor’s Budget, since things were not as grim for consumers as had been trailed in the media.”
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• The price of Guinness — of which there is, once more, an alleged shortage — is to rise by 5.2%, says owner Diageo. Last year it rose in price by 4.2%.
Diageo says the new price reflects rising costs in its supply chain, and also allows it to invest in its most famous brand.
• Stonegate is believed to have appointed advisors to simplify its business structure as it faces challenging trading conditions.
It is believed to be accelerating plans to sell 1,000 of its pubs, which could raise £1bn.
