A Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan has secured the long-term future of Black Sheep Brewery, the company has reported.
It secured £3.1m through the schem, but also reported trading which exceeded expectations.
Chairman Andrew Slee explained that Black Sheep went into lockdown with four objectives:
- To preserve cash
- To support off-trade customers and find new ways of reaching loyal customers
- To continue progress on packaging line development
- To devise a plan to react to a post-lockdown world
Development of the packaging line did, indeed, continue, and there was a boost for sales — up 35%in supermarkets — with the availability of mini-kegs.
On a minus note, Black Sheep was unable to conclude the purchase of a small group of pubs. For the time being, the aim to grow this side of the business is on hold.
Chief executive, Charlene Lyons, said: “We have made huge progress with operational and process changes that have yielded incredibly positive results.
“As much as covid has been a real negative, it has allowed the executive team to make changes, redefine focus, and implement decisions that would have ordinarily taken much longer to execute.”
The loss before tax of £1,769841 compares to a profit before tax of £13,959 in 2019.
