Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) has announced a proposal to close Banks’s Brewery in Wolverhampton in autumn 2025, as part of a restructuring of its brewery network.
Photograph: Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Co
The proposed restructuring comes in response to a decision by Mahou San Miguel not to renew its long-term exclusive licence partnership from next year, coupled with the decline of cask ale volumes over several years.
CMBC will be supporting colleagues across its wider network who are affected by these proposals, including the 97 employed at Banks’s Brewery. It will be working with trade unions and other worker representatives throughout the consultation process.
As part of the restructuring, CMBC will increase investment in its breweries in Northampton and Burton, with a long-term ambition to establish Marston’s Brewery, in Burton, as a national centre for craft beer and traditional ale brewing.
CMBC will be investing more than £6m in significant new projects in Burton, including the refurbishment of its cask ale line to brew traditional British ales. It will also develop the brewery’s capabilities for brewing innovative, contemporary craft ales.
In addition, as part of CMBC’s long-term logistics strategy, the business will be investing significantly in a new logistics depot in the Black Country region, to support its nationwide secondary logistics network.
‘Hard reality’
“This has been an extremely difficult decision, however it has been necessary to restructure our business to maintain our competitiveness in a challenging UK beer market,” said chief executive Paul Davies.
“The hard reality is that, because of the current climate for ale and Mahou San Miguel’s decision not to renew its exclusive production and distribution agreement with CMBC from the start of next year, we will have significant excess capacity across our brewery network which we have to address.
“The team at Banks’s has been unwavering in its dedication and commitment to the brewery. We will ensure that we support all our people closely throughout this extremely challenging period.
“While the proposed closure of our Wolverhampton brewery is very regrettable, with the significant investments we are making in our Northampton and Burton breweries, our strong portfolio of brands and industry-leading logistics network, CMBC will continue to deliver for our customers and focus on long-term growth.”
‘Devastating but predictable news’
Ash Corbett-Collins, chairman of CAMRA, commented: “This is devastating but predictable news from CMBC. Following the buyout of CMBC by Carlsberg — essentially turning Marston’s brewing business into a globally owned brand — we expected news like this sooner rather than later.
“After presiding over the closure of Jennings, the sale of the Eagle brewery, and removing cask beers from bars in Scotland in the last few years, Carlsberg Marston’s are now closing another iconic brewery, putting jobs and the cask beers brewed there in jeopardy. This is more often than not the case when a global brewer buys a traditional British cask brewer.
“However, we do welcome the news that Carlsberg are open to offers for purchase of the site for continued brewing operations. The brands brewed by CMBC at Bank’s must continue to be brewed at the Marton’s brewery — their loss would be tragic for consumer choice and British beer.
“This also demonstrates the huge pressures that even global brewers are facing from the high taxation of beer, energy, and raw material costs. These pressures are even more extreme for independent brewers, who have the added barrier of restricted access to the pub market, which is why it’s essential that the Government uses the upcoming Budget to support the pub and brewing industries.”
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