News of the acquisition of Drygate by Tennent’s Lager owner C&C Group follows its purchase of collapsed Edinburgh beer producer Innis & Gunn’s brand and intellectual property.
Details of the Drygate acquisition showed in C&C Group accounts.
It said it had previously held a 49% share in the company, a joint venture with Heather Ale Limited, run by the Williams brothers, who C&C said “are recognised as leading family craft brewers in Scotland”.
The brands were relaunched in 2019 (Image: Drygate Brewing)
The firm said in its June accounts: “The joint venture, which is run independently of the joint venture partners’ existing businesses, operates a craft brewing and retail facility adjacent to Wellpark brewery.”
C&C Group said the company acquired the remaining 51% last year for a total consideration of €900,000, or around £775,000.
“The primary reason for acquiring the business was to enhance the group’s range of fast-growing, premium and craft beers,” it said.
C&C Group accounts showed: “The total consideration paid by the group for Drygate Brewing was €0.9m, comprising €0.4m for the group’s existing 49% equity interest and €0.5m for the additional 51% equity interest. This was a non-cash transaction.”
Read More:
A spokesperson for the group told The Herald: “There has been no change to the brands or how the venue operates, and it remains business as usual.”
The Drygate Brewing Company Limited entity is being wound down as a formality, with the firm saying “reducing business entities was also one of our priorities to remove complexity from the business”.
The C&C Group spokesperson told this column it has “fully acquired the Drygate business, including the brewery, venue, and its fantastic range of products”, adding: “Now within the C&C Group portfolio, Drygate plays an important role in meeting consumers’ ever-evolving demand for diverse, high-quality beers.”
Read More:
It said that “now that it has been fully integrated, the ‘Drygate Brewing Company Ltd’ entity has been liquidated as a formality, which removes unnecessary cost and complexity”.
The business was set up in 2014 in the joint venture between Alloa-based Williams Brothes and Tennent Caledonian in Glasgow’s east end, and in 2019 there was a relaunch of its most successful beers including Gladeye IPA (India Pale Ale), Bearface Lager and the flagship beer Seven Peaks.
In its accounts to February 2024, Drygate said: “The company has net liabilities of £664,028 at the year end and is supported through loans from its shareholders.
“The directors have received assurances that the loan facilities will continue to be available for at least 12 months from the date of signing these financial statements and the shareholders will continue to support the company.”
It said that “the company made significant cost savings to its overheads and as a result is seeing improvements in both profitability and positive cash flow”.
Documents stated all known creditors would be paid in full during the orderly liquidation.
The news of the acquisition follows the high-profile administrations of Innis & Gunn, with the brand and associated global intellectual property bought from administrators by C&C Group in a pre-pack deal worth £4.5m, and BrewDog, with parts of the latter being acquired pre-pack by US-based Tilray Brands for £33m.