Focus South East: Marston's march south

Over the past three years Marston's has built up a highly impressive portfolio of cask ale brands.

Already in possession of the Marston's and Banks's breweries, it took the decision three years ago to expand its horizons and start to purchase small, local brewers and exploit the desire and passion for local beers in a local market.

So in 2005 Marston's, then known as Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries, went north to purchase Jennings.

Last year the company signed on the dotted line to take over Ringwood in Hampshire and then in April this year it bought the Refresh UK business, which is based in Oxfordshire - its Wychwood brewery business, with brands such as Hobgoblin and Brakspear, being a particular attraction.

The decision to buy Jennings, with its strong connections in the Lake District, a tourist - and arguably, ale drinkers' - haven, fits in perfectly with this 'local' strategy.

But the move south is more ambitious and has hinted at a more sophisticated approach than simply picking up some easy wins and going local.

For Alistair Darby, managing director of Marston's Brewing Company, the thinking behind taking the venture into Hampshire and Oxfordshire has been a desire to crack the biggest cask ale market of them all: the South East.

As Alistair sees it, this is a region any cask ale brewer would want to be in. "Firstly, you are operating in a market where cask is a very significant part of the market. Smooth is relatively small," he says.

"As you move further south the cask market increases - that is great for us and opens excellent opportunities.

"Secondly, in general you are operating in a more affluent area. The retail sale price of a pint is higher - you are looking at £2.60 to £2.70 per pint compared to £2.20, say, in the Midlands. This, in turn, feeds the wholesale price - then you find there is a bigger amount of margin available across the chain."

Alistair says the success of a rival brewer's flagship brand showed him and his team there was a real need to get to where the action is. "It's no secret that Fuller's London Pride is the leading cask ale in the biggest cask ale market in the country - London - and this, in turn, means its value generation is the highest. It has also done a great job getting it across the South East of the country," he says.

Marston's wants a piece of this action and its strategy has now built up to almost military proportions - with Alistair painting a picture of gallons of Marston's-owned beer brands making their way up the feeder motorways into London, Essex and Kent.

"We now have a powerful brand in Ringwood taking us up the M3 towards London, and Brakspear taking us down the M40 towards London. All roads lead to London! All roads lead to the biggest and most valuable cask market in the country."

So how much more ambitious is Marston's? Does it want to take up brewing positions in Kent or Essex? Never, say never, says Alistair, but he argues the company has more than enough on its plate at the moment.

"We could add more to the Marston's portfolio, but to be honest we really don't need to. We have such great opportunities with the brands we already have. We can take these beers into areas of the country we have traditionally been weaker in."