Kent's Curious Brewery acquires Wild Beer Co out of administration

Wild Beer Co acquired out of administration

Manufacturing

By Stephen Emerson

10 January 2023

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Wild Beer Co acquired out of administration

Kent's Curious Brewery has acquired West Country's Wild Beer Co following its collapse into administration.

The Ashworth-based firm has bought the beer, brands and intellectual property of the Westcombe firm in a move to bolster its specialist portfolio of premium beers.

Wild Beer Co was founded by Andrew Cooper and Brett Ellis in 2012 and went into administration in December due to rising production costs.

Curious Brewery was last year acquired out of the Chapel Down English wine business,

The acquisition will double the size of the existing Curious operation. Curious beers are brewed at their state-of-the-art brewery in Kent, where they have a current production capacity of 5 million pints per year and potential to expand upwards of 15 million pints per year.

Curious Brewery Chairman Mark Crowther said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with some of the original team from Wild Beer Co to maintain the original innovative and creative spirit of that business. Adding their delicious craft beers to our stable of award- winning premium brands, Wild Beer Co’s range fits perfectly alongside our existing portfolio, delivering a range of interesting and differentiated beers.

“The Wild Beer Co acquisition brings a lot of positives including high-quality beers and distinctive brands, impressive distribution in both the on and off-trade, as well as a significant direct-to-consumer e-commerce operation.

“This new chapter for Wild Beer Co will bring some stability, placing the business on a sure footing. For Curious, this is an important step in our journey to become one of the UK’s leading brewers of specialist, premium beer, and ciders.”

Wild Beer Co’s portfolio will sit alongside Curious’ premium English lager, Curious Brew which is brewed with Champagne yeast, and its Curious Session IPA and Curious Apple cider.

As part of the deal, Curious Brewery intends to honour the subscriptions and regular discounts available to current members of Wild Beer Co’s Secret Cellar Club and previous shareholders.

As well as listings in many hotels, bars and restaurants, the beers of the enlarged business are sold in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Majestic, as well as luxury department store Harrods and landmark venues such as The Royal Opera House.

Curious Brewery was acquired in April 2021 from Chapel Down by a team led by Crowther and backed by Risk Capital Partners, the private equity firm led by Luke Johnson.

Prior to Curious Brewery's change of ownership, a new multimillion-pound freehold brewery was built in 2019 which includes a visitor centre, tap room and a 120-cover bar-restaurant.

By Stephen Emerson

Stephen Emerson is the Managing Editor of The Business Magazine and is responsible for the publication's print publications and online properties including the newly launched Biz News websites in Hampshire and Dorset.

Stephen has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked at local, regional and national publications and led a team which made The Scotsman website one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK with over eight million monthly users.

He has a keen interest in technology, property and corporate finance and telling the stories of the people behind the successful firms in these sectors.