Great British Drinks Company has acquired the Yorkshire brewing giant and will invest £2m in the business
The Masham Black Sheep Brewery site (Image: Keystone Brewing Group)
A North Yorkshire brewery famed for some of the UK’s most popular craft beers has been saved in a £6.5m deal. Black Sheep Brewery has been saved two months after its owner filed an administration notice, after newly-formed Great British Drinks Company, also based in Yorkshire, swooped to save the operation.
The rescue deal will save 145 jobs, the brewery and its brands, including Purity Brewing Co, Brew By Numbers, Brick Brewery, North Brewing Company, Magic Rock Brewing and Fourpure Brewing Co.
The newly formed Great British Drinks Company, backed by the entrepreneurs behind Paramount Retail Group, said Black Sheep brewery will sit alongside Saltaire Brewery’s brands under the business, which was created to carry out the deal as part of a pre-pack administration process.
The Great British Drinks company said it is investing in a long-term mission to “back regional craft beer” and rebuild some of the nation’s best loved regional brands and inject optimism into British brewing
Sunny Sharma, co founder of Great British Drinks Company said: “Our approach is to ensure each brewery and its brands maintain their distinctiveness and independence, that only comes from the people and places involved, not through consolidation. Our ethos is one of stewardship.”
The Black Sheep Brewery was founded in 1992 by Paul Theakston in Masham, North Yorkshire, after leaving the family’s Theakston brewery to keep brewing alive in the town. It has been responsible for creating some of the UK’s most love beers. It also holds licenses for brands such as Hofmeister and Sassy cider.
The Black Sheep Brewery in Masham(Image: David Dixon/Geograph)
The business was acquired out of administration in 2023 by investment group Breal Capital in a deal which led to the closure of three pubs as its new owners sought to bring trade back to pre-Covid levels, and investment at its Masham brewing site was pledged last summer. The investors acquired other beer companies and brought them all under the Keystone Brewing Group, which recently filed the notice of intention to appoint administrators.
Its new owners say Black Sheep brewery has a strong retail presence, serving most of the major UK supermarkets alongside an equally strong pub and restaurant presence. The business is being acquired for £4.5m as well as a future investment plan of over £2m which will be put in place “to restore the business back to growth”.
The Great British Drinks company has combined sales of £28m and will save three important heritage brewery sites, “which aren’t just businesses they are community and local tourism assets”, Mr Sharma added.
Ravi Sharma co founder of Great British Drinks Company added: “This isn’t just a restoration deal it’s about restoring pride to Yorkshire. The region has a proud brewing heritage, and we could not stand by and let that be lost. The next few months will be exciting, the business has some fantastic people, brilliant customers and a group of suppliers that we will be very focussed on rebuilding relationships with. The great British Drinks company is open for business and here for the long term.”
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