Yorkshire-based brewery T&R Theakston has reported continued growth in its latest annual report for the year ending 31st December 2024.
T&R Theakston managing director Richard Bradbury
The family-controlled business, which has been brewing beers in Masham for almost 200 years, recorded a pre-tax profit of £271,000 for the period. This is an increase from £248,000 in the previous year, and a third consecutive year of growth for the business. The brewery saw turnover increase by 7% to £8.8m.
The business has continued to respond to the challenges facing its pub customers with a cautious approach to price increases, in order to minimise the cost pressures to them and their patrons.
The report highlights that throughout 2024 the business drove increased consumer demand for both its cask ale brands and its premium bottled ales. Its largest brands — Theakston Best, Theakston Old Peculier, and Theakston XB — all grew in terms of cask sales over the period, which also marked the first full year of Theakston Quencher, a newly-developed lower-ABV beer at 3.4%, being available.
The accounts also highlight the business’s approach to its longer-term future, with increased capital investment into the brewery, supporting its focus on consistent beer quality.
“We’re pleased to report our third consecutive increase in growth and profitability,” said managing director Richard Bradbury. “These results highlight that our commitment to producing high-quality beer, supporting our pub customers, and listening to our consumers, is not only the right thing to do but is delivering positive results for our business.
“With demand for high-quality cask ale from consumers on the increase as a result of renewed interest in the category, we’ve seen our volumes grow by over 8%. This, in itself, reflects the strength of our leading brands, but also our ability to create new beers such as Quencher to meet growing desire for lower-ABV products.
Solid business foundation
“Our ambition to continue to push forward and innovate has also seen the launch of Nowt Peculier at the end of this reporting period. Nowt Peculier takes our iconic Old Peculier and removes the alcohol while retaining the distinctive flavour characteristics, creating a new 0.0% beer that has been welcomed by both our on- and off-trade customers.”
He added: “Our performance has also been buoyed by the increased availability of our beers internationally, with exports to places including America, Australia, and Italy accounting for 4% of our turnover — double that of the previous year.”
The report notes that the business’s success remains grounded in consistently excellent beer quality and that, looking to the future, it is optimistic about its brand strength. But it is cautious about market conditions in 2025, highlighting increased costs affecting pub customers, packaging waste charges increasing the cost of products in the off-trade, and the impact of tariffs on its supply to the USA, all having potential impacts on its bottom line.
Richard said: “Despite short-term economic conditions looking challenging, we believe the brewery is well placed to out-perform the market. With a solid business foundation, healthy balance sheet, and secure financial arrangements, we remain focused on growing our revenue through not only our strong brand performance, but through broadening of our customer base.
“It’s with this in mind that we are confident T&R Theakston is well placed to continue to perform strongly, as we look forward to celebrating our bicentenary in 2027 and building beyond that into our third century of brewing legendary ales.”
