Beamish ‘to keep Cork base’

CORK brewery Beamish & Crawford, which employs 120 people, is likely to escape the latest cost-cutting drive by British parent Scottish & Newcastle.

The company declined to comment on British media reports yesterday that it planned to close two of its five British breweries, at Edinburgh and Newcastle, with the loss of 340 jobs.

Analyst Anthony Geard of Investec Securities in London said Beamish & Crawford was unlikely to be affected.