Concern over Scottish independent brewery takeover

Scotland's largest independent regional brewer Belhaven is being taken over by Greene King in a £187m (€275.7m) deal, it was announced today.

Scotland's largest independent regional brewer Belhaven is being taken over by Greene King in a £187m (€275.5m) deal, it was announced today.

The Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has expressed concern at the deal, saying there were now only 30 independent brewers left in the country, and warned other takeovers may follow.

Camra spokesman Iain Loe said: “I think Greene King are trying to take over the whole of the brewing industry.”

He said the company had barely completed its last acquisition before unveiling today’s deal.

He warned that rival Wolverhampton & Dudley would now feel “a little bit in second place” and was likely to try to snap up another family brewer.

Belhaven was founded in the Scottish village of Dunbar 1719 by John Johnstone, making it the oldest independent brewery in Scotland.

The brewery remained in family ownership until 1972.

In December 1993 the group was acquired by a management buyout led by chief executive Stuart Ross and in July 1996 it floated on the London stock exchange.

Belhaven has 270 pubs. It brews Belhaven Best, St Andrew’s Ale and Belhaven 80 Shilling, and it distributes Tennent’s and Stella Artois.

During the 53 weeks to April 3 this year the group saw its pre-tax profits rise by 22.5% to £17.4m (€25.6m).

Over the years its beers have been drunk by people ranging from the Emperor of Austria to James Boswell, friend and biographer of Dr Samuel Johnson, to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Greene King was founded in 1799 by Benjamin Greene in Bury St Edmunds, and in 1868 it amalgamated with Frederick King’s operations to become Greene, King and sons – one of the country’s largest brewers.

In 1938, the company opened a new brewhouse in time to meet the war-time demands of Allied servicemen based in East Anglia.

Its expansion has continued since the war. By the early 1960s the company owned over 900 pubs and today it owns around 2,060.

Since 1996, Greene King has acquired more than 1,600 pubs in eight transactions with a total value of more than £1.3bn (€1.9 bn).

Recent big acquisitions include 432 neighbourhood pubs from Laurel Pub Company for £654m (€965.5m) in August 2004 and the acquisition of T D Ridley & Sons for £45.6m (€67.2m) in July this year.

Greene King’s brands include Abbot Ale, Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Ruddles County. Its pubs are mainly unbranded but also include the Hungry Horse chain.