Liverpool brewery acquired out of administration
Thu, 11 Jan 2024 | BUSINESS SALE
Liverpool’s Love Lane Brewery has been acquired out of administration by a subsidiary of Liverpool-headquartered retail giant TJ Morris. Love Lane Brewery, based on Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, fell into administration in October 2023.
This was the second time in just over a year that the business had fallen into administration, after it received investment from Cheshire retail entrepreneur Nick Canning in a pre-pack administration deal in June 2022.
Paul Stanley and Jason Greenhalgh of Begbies Traynor were appointed as joint administrators of Love Lane Brewery Limited on October 5, 2023. The Love Lane Brewery Bar & Kitchen was unaffected by the administration.
At the time, joint administrator and Begbies Traynor Regional Managing Partner Paul Stanley said that the business had struggled amid difficult trading conditions in the UK’s leisure and hospitality sector, with breweries in particular facing pressure following the exponential growth of the UK’s craft beer market over the previous decade.
Craft breweries have been impacted both by challenging economic conditions and intensified competition, with many major breweries and supermarkets beginning to offer their own cheaper “craft” options as the industry's popularity has soared.
This has resulted in an over-saturated market and smaller craft breweries have been hit hardest. According to Mazars figures, there were 45 brewery insolvencies in the year to March 31 2023, compared to 15 in the previous year.
Stanley specifically cited this as a factor in Love Lane Brewery’s collapse, saying: “More recently, as the majors have introduced their own corporate versions of craft beer onto the pumps, the smaller brewers are finding it even tougher to compete and we have seen a huge rise in the number of microbrewery businesses seeking financial help.”
The joint administrators mothballed the brewery’s operations while a buyer was sought, saying at the time of the company’s administration that they were already in discussions with a number of potential buyers. The administrators have now confirmed that the company has been acquired by TJ Morris Brewing Ltd, which was renamed from White Real Estate on January 9 2024.
A spokesperson for TJ Morris said: “We can confirm, that White Real Estate Limited have acquired the assets and intellectual property of Love Lane Brewery, in Liverpool’s Baltic area, from administrators.”
“The intention is, that the venue will continue to trade independently and the brewery will re-commence operations, supplying product to both the venue itself, as well as third party operators and retailers.”
Find out more about the pressures facing UK craft breweries
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