Thwaites freezes beer prices to tenants

This means the prices paid by its licensees for Thwaites branded products will remain the same for the rest of 2017.

This includes its beers brewed under licence by Marston’s including Thwaites Original and Thwaites Smooth as well as its range of beers that are produced at its brewery in Blackburn, Lancashire. 

Thwaites admitted that the costs of production had increased but it had managed to absorb them.

The news comes as a raft of brewers – Molson Coors, AB InBev, Carlsberg and Heineken – unveiled price increases for 2017 ranging between 2.3% to 3.6%. They said the reasons for the rises were the increased costs of production, raw materials and need to maintain investment in their brands.

Thwaites director of pubs and brewing Andrew Buchanan said: "We hope this news is a welcome boost to our licensees.

"We know, currently, there are tough trading conditions and they are facing cost increases in a whole host of areas. That is why we are committed to supporting our customers wherever we can and why we are going to hold our prices this year.

"We too have seen our costs rise but we have found a way to absorb that this year so that we don’t have to pass it on to our publicans."

Meanwhile, regional brewer Adnams froze its prices last year but said it was unable to do the same for 2017.

A spokeswoman said: “Having held our prices last year, we have implemented a price increase this year, averaging 2.4% to reflect increased costs of raw materials and utilities.”