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23
Jan
Black Sheep Brewery rescued in £6.5m sale to drinks company
Great British Drinks Company has bought Masham's Black Sheep Brewery as part of a £6.5 million deal.
The newly formed company, which is backed by Paramount Retail Group, has secured the brewery in what has been described as a “restoration deal”.
It comes as the Masham-based brewery’s parent company, Keystone Brewing Group, filed multiple notices of intention to appoint administrators late last year in attempt to save the business.
The move is set to save 145 jobs and includes the acquisition of other brands including Purity Brewing Co, Brew By Numbers, Brick Brewery, North Brewing Company, Magic Rock Brewing and Fourpure Brewing Co.
Sunny Sharma, co-founder of Great British Drinks Company, said:
Our approach is to ensure each brewery and its brands maintain their distinctiveness and independence, that only comes from the people and places involved, not through consolidation. Our ethos is one of stewardship.
The company said it will place the breweries alongside Saltaire Brewery’s brands and that it was investing in a long-term mission to “back regional craft beer”.
Anthony Collier and Martyn Rickels, of FRP Advisory Manchester, completed the pre-pack sale of Keystone and its assets to Great British Drinks Company as joint administrators.
The administrations said Keystone had faced “increasing financial pressure as a result of challenging trading conditions across the brewing and hospitality sector”.
Mr Colliter said:
This transaction provides the business with a secure future under new ownership and delivers a positive outcome for employees and customers alike. We’re pleased to have achieved a sale that preserves jobs and enables the business to continue trading seamlessly.
Black Sheep Brewery was founded in 1992 by Paul Theakston, a member of Masham’s Theakston brewing family. He left his family's business, T&R Theakston, to start his own independent brewery, becoming the “black sheep” of the family – hence the brewery’s name.
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