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West Berkshire Brewery seeks £750,000 to strengthen pub business post-lockdown
According to West Berkshire Brewery’s page on crowdfunding platform Seedrs, part of its proceeds will be used to enable any pub acquisition opportunities as they arise over the next 12 months.
What’s more, the operator of three pubs in London and one in Oxford under its Maverick Pubs brand, also plans to use funds to bolster its marketing initiatives with on-trade partners across south of England and support the installation and commissioning of a fridge pack machine to pack bottles and cans into consumer ready retail packs.
Since its launch on 1 June, the creator of Good Old Boy and Renegade Lager had raised 96% of its target at the time of writing, with investors offered perks such as a 10% lifetime discount, brewery tours, and access to the brewer’s 100-litre pilot kit for shareholders to create their own bespoke beer.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the team and be a part of the journey over the past seven years, but this really is only the beginning,” West Berkshire Brewery chairman David Bruce said of the crowdfunding campaign.
“We are opening up once more to offer beer lovers and craft-brewing enthusiasts with a thirst for fantastic breweries a chance to join us and become a part of this extraordinary story.”
Very positive place
Planned developments for West Berkshire Brewery’s beer business will build upon a £9m transformation of its Yattendon home in May 2019, which saw it increase its brewing capacity by 12 times and prompted a rebrand of its entire beer portfolio.
What’s more, since its first crowdfunding campaign in 2016, West Berkshire Brewery’s business highlights have included a doubling of revenues to more than £6m in its most recent full financial year, national distribution with Matthew Clark, and the creation of award-winning brews such as Maggs’ Magnificent Mild, which won the bronze award in the mild category at the 2019 Great British Beer Festival.
“The past few months have been extremely tough for everyone, ourselves included. But despite these challenging times, we have been able to trade through and some parts of our business are in significant growth, which is testament to the extensive work we have completed in the past couple of years to establish a much bigger and multifaceted business, which has positioned us well to weather the current storm,” West Berkshire Brewery managing director Tom Lucas said.
“We are in a very positive place and ready to continue accelerating our business in the months and years ahead.”
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