Thwaites, the Lancashire brewer and pub operator, expects to invest c£10m in its new brewery and hopes to start production there in the next 18 months to two years, chief executive Rick Bailey has told M&C Report.
Yesterday the company announced that the new brewery and head office will be located on the A59, at the foot of the Ribble Valley. The acquisition is expected to complete in the next six months or so.
In the meantime, Thwaites is looking to find a buyer for its Blackburn brewery. Talks to have Sainsbury’s acquire it have ended following a lack of support from Blackburn with Darwen Council.
Bailey said the new site is about the same size as the current seven-acre location, although the actual brewery will be smaller; just four acres of the new location is usable.
“We’re hopeful that we’ll be there in 18 months to two years, but as with any of these things the devil’s in the detail,” he said. Regarding the cost, Bailey added: “We think it’s going to be up to about £10m.”
In January, Thwaites announced plans make 60 redundancies as part of a further restructure of its brewing operations, and Bailey said the number of employees who lost their jobs was lower than that. No changes to the staff base are expected as part of the transition to the new brewery.
Bailey said: “We’ve got the team in place now to take this forward to the new site, and we’re looking forward to working with them to design it and to work out the configuration of the brewery.”
Asked about long term efficiency savings with the change to the new site, he said: “There’s no great savings from moving to the site. What it does is absolutely anchor our investment in brewing and allows us to look forward and safeguard our brewing heritage.”
