A prominent Tyneside craft brewery has gone into administration, citing tax bills and turbulence within the hospitality industry as the causes.
Paul Hughes, the entrepreneur behind North Shields-based Black Storm Brewery, which was named Independent Brewery of the Year 2021/22, said the move marked a sad day in the business' five years since launching. Before Covid the brewery had made a flurry of acquisitions and employed as many as 27 people through a bottle shop in Manchester and bars in Newcastle, Whitley Bay and Stockton, before it was scaled back in 2019.
Black Storm was re-established at the Royal Quays shopping centre within an empty retail unit that housed its brewing operation and a taproom. The venue was seen as a key part of the shopping centre's revitalisation but is now closed and the firm's five staff have been made redundant.
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Writing on Black Storm's website, Mr Hughes said: "Unfortunately the journey has come to this point due to not being able to agree a course of action with our largest creditor HMRC, alongside the well documented issues within the brewing and hospitality industry, such as sky high utilities and raw material costs, and the closure of a vast number of our trading partners, which we were not immune too.
"The journey that we have travelled over our five years has been well documented on social media: the highs, the awards, the charity donations, the grass roots team sponsorships, the festivals and our tour. And of course the lows: Covid, the closure of our venues, and the reduction of our team. Everything above has made the Black Storm story exactly what it is.
"I have so many people to thank for being part of the journey, my amazing team, our friends in the industry and our ever growing and loyal fan base. For now we lock the doors, raise a glass to the story, and await what becomes of the next chapter of Black Storm."
Administrators from Opus Restructuring LLP were appointed to Black Storm Brewery's parent company which in its most recent accounts to the end of April 2021 show it employed 12 people and had debts of more than £770,000, some of which included interest free loans provided by directors. The firm, which is expected to leave debts of £1.2m, made a series of acquisitions in the first couple of years following its launch, including Chester-le-Street Black Hill Brewery, gluten-free microbrewery Autumn Brewing and Stockton bar Rios.
Administrator Mark Ranson said: "This is such a sad outcome for a well respected business, which had such a bright future before the pandemic. We can only hope that any initial interest from potential buyers can be turned into an early sale of the business and assets to produce the best possible result for the creditors and to rescue the jobs put into jeopardy."
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