More North East brewers are likely to face insolvencies in the near future, the manager of The Great North Eastern Brewing Company has said as administrators hunt for a buyer for the business.
Ross Minnikin said a barrage of headwinds including pub closures, rising costs and the hangover of the Covid Bounce Back Loan Scheme tipped the Rivet Catcher brewer into administration. Insolvency experts at Gosforth-based RMT were recently appointed to the firm, which continues to trade, and are now marketing it in the hope a rescue buyer can be found.
The move comes nearly a year after The Great North Eastern Brewing Company secured a six-figure investment which was intended to create jobs and help the firm expand sales to customers in Edinburgh, York and the Lake District. The £100,000 injection from the British Enterprise Fund (BEF) was the latest in a series of investments including £35,000 into the firm in 2019, and it also followed a £50,000 sum from the North East Small Loan Fund, delivered by NEL Fund Managers in 2020.
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Since its launch in 2015, The Great North Eastern Brewing Company has become known for its range of cask, keg and bottled beers produced at its premises not far from the old Federation Brewery site which was said to turn out 6,000 litres of ale a week, bound for more than 400 customers. Its Rivet Catcher, Styrian Blonde and Citra Blonde beers, among others, are prominent in pubs, hotels and off licences across the region, and have been sold further afield too.
Explaining the reasons for the firm's demise, Mr Minnikin told BusinessLive: "It's been the closing of the pubs, rising costs of hops and malt, electricity prices that have squeezed margins. That and the impact of Bounce Back Loans which have caused this."
He also said that other local brewers were likely to follow suit thanks to the multitude of pressures facing the brewing industry.
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A recent report from accountancy firm Price Bailey pointed to the increased rate of failures among 海角视频 beer makers last year which rose 49% on 2022's number. The authors said rising interest rates and tapering of the Government's £18bn energy support packages put financial pressures on breweries, as had the need to make loan repayments and the cost-of-living impact on customers' spending ability. The Great Eastern Brewing Company's administration is the latest in a string of industry failures in the North East, including Black Storm Brewery and Tyne Bank Brewery which have both since been acquired.
Chris Ferguson, director and head of recovery and insolvency at RMT Accountants & Business Advisors, said: “I was appointed as administrator of the Great North Brewing Company Limited on 5 April. We are currently continuing to trade the business while we establish interest from potential purchasers in the business and assets of the company, and will issue a further update once this process is complete."