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Founded in 1872, Adnams is a regional brewer based in Suffolk, with some 45 managed and tenanted pubs, plus stores, and has a reputation for product innovation (including brewing collaborations) often with ‘green’ credentials.

There are unlisted 25p A shares (limited liquidity: traded on AssetMatch) and £1 B shares, which are traded on the AQSE market: each class enjoys one vote per share. There are also two small issues of 3.85% Cum Preference shares and 4.9% Non Cum Preference shares.

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Based in Belgium, it claims to be the world’s largest brewer. In the UK it owns the iconic cask Draught Bass brand, which is contract brewed by Marston’s at Burton.

London dealing facility.

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Asahi is a major Japanese multinational brewer. It acquired the Fuller’s and Dark Star brewing businesses in 2019, and announced, in late 2022, that the Dark Star site will close but that their beers will be brewed at the Meantime plant.

They appear to remain committed to real ale in UK. Asahi owns other premium beer brands around the world.

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Based at a farm in the South Downs, the business entered administration in February 2023.

There will be no return for equity shareholders.

A Nottingham based EIS private company, founded in 2014 and operating five externally managed pubs.

Initially raised just over £1m, but further fundraisings since.

At one time the largest brewery in the UK by volume, the Trumans brand was once ubiquitous in the Greater London area, but it fell on hard times and closed in 1989. Reborn in 2013 under the Black Eagle name it continued to struggle and changed its name again in 2022.

Its beers (not cask) are now contract brewed but it operates outlets that do sell real ale.

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Established in 1992 as a free trade brewer using traditional Yorkshire squares. Black Sheep acquired York Brewery and its four pubs in 2018.

In April 2023 it announced that it was conducting a strategic review of the business but entered into administration in May 2023. The business was sold to a private equity firm. There will be no recovery for PLC shareholders.

Administrator’s Report

The family-controlled company has had a troubled recent past, suffering from too much debt. The issues arising from the Covid pandemic exacerbated an already difficult situation.

In May 2022, it sold the majority of the 99 pubs, previously let to Marston’s, to a private equity fund and, since 2020, it has also sold or exchanged 36 pubs to other parties. At the same time, it has been exiting from a handful of pubs identified as suffering from onerous leases and disposing of other peripheral assets.

The monies raised have been used to repay the banks and stabilise the corporate pension schemes. It is expected that, by the end of the disposal programme, the company will only own a couple of freehold pubs. As a consequence, the business model for the brewery is very different since it no longer enjoys a captive estate, and much will depend on how successful this strategy turns out to be.

The Club holds two classes of rarely traded cumulative preference shares, neither of which is currently paying dividends. Ordinary shares are not listed.

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A micro Belgian co-operative brewer (with approx. 300 members) of artisanal organic beers. Shares can only be traded within the co-operative.

The business is seeking a buyer.

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The company owns cask beer distributor Matthew Clark and has a 47% stake in Admiral Taverns, which owns c1000 pubs.

Admiral bought the 670+ pub business of Hawthorn Leisure from New River Retail, during the summer of 2021. In mid-2022, it announced the sale of the Admiral stake to its private equity business partner: the phased transaction is expected to take place through 2023.

C&C also owns an 8% stake in Scottish craft brewer Innis & Gunn (brewers of Inveralmond cask beers), and its Wellpark brewery in Glasgow packages for Innis & Gunn.

An Irish company but is a member of FTSE250 Index. Quoted in £.

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This London listed investment trust has owned Liberation Group (Butcombe and Liberation breweries), including approximately 110 pubs (including c60 in the Channel Islands) since 2016. There is a significant cask beer free trade (over 500 outlets) as well.

In October 2020, Liberation bought 21 high-end pubs located in the South West of England from Wadworth and last year bought the Cirrus group of pubs, which introduced the first London premises to the company.

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A Danish brewery operating internationally, it owns the Tetley branded UK cask ales (brewed by Camerons) and is a major distributor of real beer in the UK.

Has two classes of shares. London dealing facility. Has entered into a joint UK brewing operation with Marston’s: it is the 60/40 majority partner in CMBC (see Marston’s below).

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City Pub Group is an AIM listed pub company, headquartered in London and operating around 50 predominantly freehold outlets or development sites located in market towns and cities across southern England and Wales.

Most venues are wet lead (some with on-site breweries) but with a growing number also offering accommodation. The stated ambition is to grow to over 100 outlets.

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Hong Kong based and listed real estate business, CK Asset Holding is part of a larger group of businesses controlled or substantially owned by multi-millionaire KS Li of Cheung Kong fame.

As part of a plan to reduce exposure to Hong Kong and China, while obtaining higher recurrent income, it bought Greene King for £2.7bn cash in 2019, and has indicated intent to support Greene King strategy and business mix.

Greene King, based in Bury St Edmunds and founded in 1799, operates and brews under many brands including Belhaven, Hardy & Hanson, Hungry Horse, Morland, Ruddles, Taylor Walker, and Tolly Cobbold. It has some 2730 sites, of which, approximately, 1050 are tenanted, franchised, or leased pubs.

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Once a leading brewer of cask beer at its Chiswick plant, the company, which is London listed, sold its brewing business to Asahi in 2019. It now concentrates on retailing and has some 180 managed pubs and hotels, and a tenanted estate of roughly 200 inns: 44% of the portfolio is located within the M25.

The A shares are listed. There are also B and C category shares which are family controlled and unlisted. Each share has one vote: there are roughly 33.5m As, 89m Bs, and 14.5m Cs. In addition, there are two small issues of Preference shares that are rarely traded.

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Heavitree is an Exeter based pub chain, which no longer brews. It has been strengthening its balance sheet by carefully trimming its property portfolio and disposing of unwanted sites. The current estate consists of some sixty tenanted pubs, which are concentrated in South Devon.

It is extended family controlled, with two lines of shares (different voting rights), both traded on the AIM market.

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A Dutch headquartered brewer that claims to be second largest in the world is also said to own the second largest pub estate in the UK (Star Inns).

In June 2022, it announced the closure of the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh. Production was transferred to Greene King’s Belhaven brewery. Heineken also owns Brixton Brewing (which does brew some cask) and the Beavertown brewery which doesn’t.

Two share classes. London dealing facility.

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Operating primarily in the Wiltshire area as a cask ale brewery, the company was an early beneficiary of CAMRA’s campaigning.

Founded in 1987 it owns and operates a small number of pubs. Its flagship beer, Summer Lightning, is widely available in the free trade. Shares have limited marketability.

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Now based in Salford, Hydes is a long-established business, which has restructured itself into a specialist brewer of seasonal and multi micro branded beers, supplying its own estate in the greater North West of England, and a strong regional free trade.

Shares are non-voting and traded from time to time with the company acting as facilitator.

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Founded in 1849, this family-controlled brewery now has sixth generation members involved in running the business comprising some 120 tied pubs, one hotel, and 500 free trade outlets with national distribution. It operates the Bootleg brand as well.

In conjunction with the Restaurant Group, it operates a microbrewery at Manchester Airport. Shares have limited liquidity being traded via closed auction twice a year.

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Founded in 2011, the family run company produces traditional cask and supplies small batch craft beers to national UK supermarkets and wholesalers. There is a significant export trade.

A crowdfunding in 2018 was used to finance a new brewing centre, which is near Dumbarton. It became operational in late 2019.

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Floated on AIM in April 2019, the company has over 230 outlets throughout England and Wales (but not central London), trading under the Cosy Club and Lounges brands.

The aim is to open around 30 new sites each year with a medium-term target of reaching 400 outlets. Some of the 40 or so Club sites may sell cask or bottle-conditioned beers.

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Now a pub owning business, Marston’s merged its brewing interests into a joint company with Carlsberg (CMBC) in June 2020. Marston’s owns 40% of CMBC.

It had been brewing at Burton since 1834 and operated from six sites producing a number of different branded beers. These included, for itself, Banks’s, Jennings, Mansfield, Ringwood, and Wychwood. Although it bought the Lancaster and Wainwright brands from Thwaites, it could not use the brewery name.

CMBC contract brews the Tetley cask beer range, Brakspear range, and Draught Bass. It acquired the Charles Wells, Courage, and Eagle brands in 2017, and used the Bedford brewery to produce Young’s branded beers.

In October 2022, CMBC announced the not unexpected closure of the Jennings facility in Cockermouth, with cask production being moved to Burton. This was followed by the sale of the Bedford Eagle site to Spanish brewer Damm in November 2022, and in May 2023 the company announced the potential sale of Ringwood. The Young’s beers brewed in Bedford transferred to the Wychwood plant in early 2023.

Marston’s, in December 2020, agreed with SA Brain to operate the latter’s pub estate. Early in 2021 it received an unsolicited takeover bid from a US based private equity fund which it rejected. Marston’s continues to rationalise the lower end of its tied estate but still runs some 1500 outlets.

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McMullens has 125 tied pubs across South-East England, with a strong cask beer tradition. The business, founded in 1827, is still family controlled.

The company has three share classes: Ordinary Shares – these carry the vote and are held by the family; Non-voting Ordinary Shares – same dividend and capital entitlement to Ords but no vote – rarely marketed; Preferred Ordinary Shares – in addition to the ordinary dividend, these have a small additional fixed dividend element – no vote but are most traded share class. The Club owns preferred ordinary shares. The company facilitates share trades.

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Mitchells & Butler is a leading pub company with over 1700 largely freehold sites across the UK and Germany.

It is fully listed and trades under various identities such as All Bar One, Ember Inns, Miller and Carter, Nicholsons, Orchid, and Vintage Inns. Most pubs offer a range of cask beers. Nicholsons house cask beer is brewed by St Austell. Listed in 2003.

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Based in Denver, Colorado, the company acquired parts of the Bass business from Interbrew in 2002. It bought Sharp’s of Cornwall in 2011, and has invested heavily in promoting the Doom Bar brand into the top selling cask ale in the UK.

It brews some 110,000 of barrels of cask beer per year (under licensing arrangements with other brewers), with Sharp’s capacity stated to be 200,000 barrels per year. It owns no pubs. The breweries at Burton and Tadcaster do not brew cask.

Plans to close the National Brewery Centre in Burton were announced in late 2022, but the historical archive will be moved elsewhere.

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One of the original microbreweries (being formed in 1986), Nethergate had a troubled history before being eventually bought back by its founders in 2014.

A new brewing centre was built in 2017, just a couple of miles away from the original site. Brews a mixture of traditional and more modern styles, with water from its own bore hole.

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The Restaurant Group is expanding its upmarket Brunning and Price dining chain (founded in 1989), which focuses upon c80 destination pubs (some with rooms) selling cask ales, whilst cutting back significantly on some of its out-of-town restaurant brands.

In September 2023 it announced the disposal of its loss-making leisure division and stated it plans to increase the pub estate to between 120 – 140 sites. Since mid-2022 it sources its house beers from Brightside (northern estate) and St Austell (southern estate) but features guests from local breweries as well. Main listed.

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Founded in 1991, in Ashton under Lyne, the company originally focused on operating late night bars and clubs. Its listing history has been mixed with a period on the main London exchange before being taken private, but since July 2020 it has traded on AIM.

The company now operates some 90 outlets, including 21 upmarket, food led pubs (many with rooms), based in the heart of England, which it acquired when it bought Peach Pubs in October 2022. Peach sites tend to offer cask beers.

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A leading property company, owning what many view as the pre-eminent central London retail and leisure portfolio, including more than 290 pubs, cafes, and restaurants totalling 1.7m square feet of hospitality space.

Has a strong community focus in its heartland which is centred on Covent Garden and Soho.

Following Shaftesbury’s agreed merger with the larger Capital and Counties REIT, the combined portfolios had a value of c£4.9bn in March 2023. Main listed REIT.

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Claiming to be the UK’s oldest continuous brewer (from 1698), the Kent based business owns some 300 pubs (c70 managed) in Kent and the South East of England, most of which sell cask.

It also operates under the Whitstable Bay, Faversham Steam Brewery, and No 18 Yard Brewhouse names and supplies c2000 other outlets. Heavy family involvement and traded on AQSE with a market value of c£150m.

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The family-controlled business continues to brew and retail its own beers despite closing its long established bulk brewery in Blackburn, in 2014.

It sold its then key brands to Marston’s in 2015. It now operates over 240 or so pubs, including an expanding number of hotels and lodges. It established a craft brewery in 2018, just outside Preston, to produce its own branded cask beers. Traded on AQSE.

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Founded in 2004 by American Steve Brown, the company now claims to be London’s oldest, independent standalone brewery and has a reputation for producing traditional cask beers but with a modern twist. It uses a wide variety of hops sourced globally.

It owns one pub and the brewery usually opens when the nearby stadium is hosting events.

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The fourth largest commercial maltster in the world, this Australian listed company has interests in North America and Asia as well as owning Baird’s Malt and the Brewers Select businesses in the UK.

In March 2023 it received an unsolicited cash offer from a subsidiary of the French agribusiness cooperative InVivo and, following regulatory approvals, the takeover will complete in mid November 2023, subject to final shareholders’ vote.

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Founded in 1875 and based in Wiltshire, largely operating in the Wessex region, the business remains firmly family controlled, though, in April 2023, it announced the appointment of its first non-family member to the post of non-executive Chairman.

In 2022, the company stated that it had completed its pub restructuring programme and now operates c150 pubs (c130 tenanted). The pruning resulted in operational efficiencies and an improved financial position ahead of building a new brewery on the outskirts of Devizes, which opened in September 2023.

The current Northgate brewery building is expected to be redeveloped but some brewing will continue there until the Folly Road site becomes fully operational. There is a complex share structure with Ordinary, A Ordinary, and two classes of Cumulative Preference shares. Shares are now traded on AssetMatch.

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The company entered into administration in January 2022. There will be no return to ordinary shareholders.

A leading pub operator with over 830 outlets (including c55 hotels) throughout the UK and Republic of Ireland. The estate is not static and there are frequent disposals as well as an opening programme.

Nearly 70% of its premises are held freehold and the last published valuation date was 1999. Founded in 1979 and listed on the main London market.

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No longer directly brewing but owning over 300 pubs, operating under various brands such as Beefeater and Brewers Fayre.

Also operates 785 hotels with bars attached.

Main London listing.

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Founded as a brewery in 1831, the company fully sold its beer brands to Charles Wells in 2014, following a merger in 2006. These are now brewed by CMBC/Marston’s at their Wychwood brewery (see above). It now concentrates on its pubs which are largely based in London and the South East but are expanding into the South West.

There are roughly 220 managed houses (including hotels): the majority of its tenancies were sold to Punch in mid-2021, but it has kept a few, probably pending conversion to its managed estate.

Traded on AIM, it has both A Ordinary and non-voting shares. It is possible to arbitrage trades between the share classes, but liquidity is often tight.

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