Cornwall’s St Austell Brewery is looking to grow its estate to more than 200 pubs as it bounces back from Covid losses.
The company, which remains independent and family-owned, currently has 180 pubs but chief executive Kevin Georgel said it has ambitions to add at least 20 more through acquisitions.
He said the firm, which sustained a £10m before-tax loss during the worst of the Covid pandemic having previously been profitable, is now positive about its prospects.
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Mr Georgel said the business faces challenges, including supply chain issues and lowering carbon emissions, but has experienced a strong post-pandemic rebound.
“We are very positive about our future growth prospects and look forward to continuing to strengthen our legacy as a leading South West hospitality business,” he said. “We have 180 pubs and inns across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset and are an acquisitive business, so we look forward to seeing our estate grow to over 200 pubs over the next few years.”
He added: “Undeniably, the industry faces several challenges, which we will be working to tackle this year, such as supply chain issues, operating more sustainably and lowering our carbon emissions, and most importantly, building on the strong recovery we’ve seen after the pandemic.
“We are also passionate about attracting the best talent, and nurturing their skills through investment in the training and development of our employees. This will help our business to reach our full potential in years to come.
“Over the past few years, the South West has increasingly become a destination of choice, for tourists as well as those looking to move to the region for a better quality of life, so we are excited to showcase the best the area has to offer and drive interest to our fantastic pubs and inns, while supporting the growth of the regional economy too.”
Mr Georgel said that as a historic brewer, with strong heritage, the company will also continue to build its portfolio of award-winning beers.
“As preferences shift, it is important that we are always innovating and modernising to delight our customers with our high-quality products,” he said.
St Austell Brewery Company Ltd went from making a healthy £10.9m pre-tax profit to a £10m loss in 2020. Revenue fell to £117.6m in 2020 from £189.6m in the year before the pandemic and brought to a juddering halt years of solid growth, with turnover rising from £153.2m in 2016, to £169.3m in 2017, and £179.6m in 2018. Before-tax profits were also more than £10m in each of these years.
The initial 2020 lockdown saw supply to the off-trade hit record levels, but, with pubs shut, turnover was only about 10% of what was normally expected. The November lockdown, and then the tiered system followed by the third national lockdown, also hit the business.
In early 2021 the brewery secured a “significant” £25m loan from its bankers to enable it to weather the coronavirus lockdown and plan for the future. But since then the situation has become more positive and in January 2022 St Austell Brewery, which was founded in 1851, was able to announce its historic inn, the Masons Arms in Branscombe, Devon, is undergoing a sensitive, yet transformational, £2m refurbishment which will also create 15 new jobs.
The same month, St Austell Brewery owned pubs the Cornish Arms, in Tavistock, and the St Kew Inn, in Bodmin, were named two of the top foodie pubs in Britain, featuring in this year’s prestigious Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list. In 2021 three of the brewery’s beers took home gold at the International Beer Challenge (IBC). The company was awarded seven accolades in total.
