London-based craft brewery Brew By Numbers been bought out of administration by the same investor which saved Vinoteca from collapse this month.

 

The business has been sold to investment firm Breal Capital in a move that will safeguard all staff jobs.

 

Brew By Numbers was founded in 2011 with its original taproom opening on Enid Street on London’s Bermondsey Beer Mile.

 

In 2021, the business moved its main production to a site in Morden Wharf, Greenwich, and added a 400-capacity taproom and outdoor seating area.

 

Joint administrators at Evelyn Partners were appointed to oversee a sale of the brewer on 14 June.

 

Colin Hardman, a partner at Evelyn Partners, said the brewing industry had struggled with “widespread pressure” over the past few years “due to the pandemic, the post-Brexit complexity of export paperwork, increased materials costs, reduced discretionary spending and changes to beer duty laws.”

 

“This has resulted in numerous microbreweries being forced to close in recent years,” he added.

 

The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions for Breal Capital, which snapped up Peckham’s Brick Brewery and Yorkshire’s Black Sheep Brewery earlier this year. It acquired London wine bar group Vinoteca this month.

 

Neil Gostelow, Breal’s investment director, told the Financial Times the firm saw “real potential” in the craft beer industry, despite a rise in brewery closures this year.

 

He pointed to the “massive expansion” of craft beer in the US and subsequent closure of many small breweries, which provided stronger prospects for the brands left behind.

 

“We are probably lagging five years behind the US,” he told the paper. “Now you see craft ale is a growing market there.”

 

The number of UK breweries falling into insolvency has tripled over the last year, according to analysis by accountancy firm Mazars.

 

This has included Manchester Brewing Co, which closed in January, while Southampton's Unity Brewing Co shut its doors in February. Somerset's Wild Beer Co also entered administration in December 2022 after 10 years of trading, blaming "adverse trading conditions".

 

More support needed

 

 

Post-Brexit trading regulations have left brewers faced with completing costly and time-consuming paperwork to sell beers to countries in the European Union and UKHospitality has called for greater support for small firms.

 

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls said: “It’s no secret that trading outside the UK has become much more challenging, particularly when it comes to increased paperwork and costs.

 

“Unfortunately, this is one of many pressures hospitality businesses are facing at the moment, alongside energy costs, food and drink inflation and workforce shortages. As a result, we are seeing independent businesses disproportionately affected by these challenges and more and more being forced to close their doors.

 

“The UK has always had a great reputation for enabling hospitality start-ups and small businesses to thrive, both domestically and on the international stage through exports. It’s crucial they are properly supported so we don’t lose even more good businesses, that are bringing variety and innovation through in the sector.”

 

*Image: Brew By Numbers / Facebook *