Our Portfolio
The club holds shares in the following companies:
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Adnams
Founded in 1872, Adnams is a regional brewer based in Suffolk with some 45 managed…
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. Adnams announced in February 2024 that it was seeking additional funding to counteract the adverse effects arising from increased costs and challenging market conditions.
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Anheuser-Busch InBev
Based in Belgium, AB InBev claims to be the world’s largest brewer. In the UK it owns…
Based in Belgium, AB InBev claims to be the world’s largest brewer. In the UK it owns the iconic cask Draught Bass brand, which is contract brewed by CMBC at Burton. Brains (q.v.) contract brews some of its smaller brands. London dealing facility.
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Asahi
Asahi is a major Japanese multinational brewer. It acquired the Fuller’s and Dark Star…
Asahi is a major Japanese multinational brewer. It acquired the Fuller’s and Dark Star brewing businesses in 2019, and announced in early 2024 that the Dark Star and Meantime beers will be brewed at Chiswick. Nevertheless, Asahi appear to remain committed to real ale in UK. Asahi owns other premium beer brands around the world.
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Beer Consortium
A Nottingham based EIS private company, founded in 2014 and operating five externally…
A Nottingham based EIS private company, founded in 2014 and operating five externally managed pubs.
Initially raised just over £1m, but further fundraisings since.
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Big Penny
At one time the largest brewery in the UK by volume, the Trumans brand was once ubiquitous…
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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Brain SA
The family controlled company was already in a troubled financial position prior to Covid…
The family controlled company was already in a troubled financial position prior to Covid, suffering from too much debt, but the issues arising from the pandemic exacerbated the situation and, in May 2022, it sold the majority of the 99 pubs it still owned. The disposal programme continued through to November 2023 when it stated it had fully repaid its bank debt.
The business is now focused upon its state of the art Dragon Brewery facility, where it brews (predominately cask) for its former estate and under contract for Molson Coors and AB InBev.
In November 2023, it announced a new non-family Chairman, who previously was a senior director of Carlsberg Marston Brewing, and fresh non-executive directors: essentially it is a new Board. 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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Brasserie du Renard
A micro Belgian co-operative brewer (with approx. 300 members) of artisanal organic beers…
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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C&C Group
The company owns cask beer distributor Matthew Clark and various alcohol brands, including Bulmers…
The company owns cask beer distributor Matthew Clark and various alcohol brands, including Bulmers and Tennants.
Until February 2023 it had a 47% stake in Admiral Taverns, which owns around 1500 pubs, most of which are community based. 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 I&G.
An Irish company but is a member of FTSE250 Index. Quoted in £.
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Caledonia Investments
This is an internationally diversified London listed investment trust which, amongst other…
This is an internationally diversified London listed investment trust which, amongst other holdings, owns the Liberation Group (Butcombe and Liberation breweries: including approximately 120 English pubs based largely in the South West, London, and in the Channel Islands.) There is a significant cask beer free trade (over 500 outlets) and Butcombe also contract brews for others.
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Carlsberg
A Danish brewery operating internationally, Carlsberg is probably the leading brewer of cask beer in the UK…
A Danish brewery operating internationally, Carlsberg is probably the leading brewer of cask beer in the UK and is a major distributor of real beer in the UK.
It has two classes of shares. Controlled by a foundation. London dealing facility.
In July 2024 it was announced that Marston’s had sold its 40% interest in the joint UK brewing operation created in 2020 (CMBC) to Carlsberg, so CMBC is now wholly owned by the Danish business.
CMBC 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 Courage cask beer range (it acquired the Charles Wells, Courage, and Eagle brands in 2017), Brakspear range, and Draught Bass.
In 2022 CMBC closed the Jennings facility in Cockermouth and in 2023 the sites at Ringwood and Wychwood were also shut. The Bedford Eagle site was sold to Spanish brewer Damm. This leaves CMBC operating from three sites. In April 2024 it determined that the famous Burton Union system was no longer viable and would be mothballed: subsequently, it was agreed to transfer one set to Thornbridge brewery and one to Epochal (Glasgow). Carlsberg owns the Tetley brand in the UK which it is thought is brewed in Wolverhampton: the Hobgoblin brands are believed to be brewed in Burton.
In July 2024 Carlsberg also announced the acquisition of Britvic for £3.3bn. (subject to regulatory approval), and if successful CMBC will be incorporated into a new business called Carlsberg Britvic.
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CK Asset Holding
Hong Kong based and listed real estate business, CK Asset Holding is part of a larger group…
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 2700 sites (including restaurants and hotels), of which, approximately, 1050 are tenanted, franchised, or leased pubs. It plans to build a new state of the art brewing facility in Bury St Edmunds, whilst exiting the current historical plant.
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Fuller, Smith & Turner
Once a leading brewer of cask beer at its Chiswick plant, the company, which is London listed…
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 150. The estate is gradually being added to and becoming less focused upon the inner M25 area.
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
Heavitree is an Exeter based pub chain, which no longer brews. It has been strengthening…
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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Heineken Holdings
A Dutch headquartered brewer that claims to be second largest in the world. It is also said…
A Dutch headquartered brewer that claims to be second largest in the world. It is also said to own the second largest pub estate in the UK (Star Inns: c. 2400 sites).
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. It continues to hold a stake in T&R Theakston.
Two share classes. London dealing facility.
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Hop Back
Operating primarily in the Wiltshire area as a cask ale brewery, the company was an early…
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 ten pubs. Its flagship beer, Summer Lightning, is widely available in the free trade. Shares have limited marketability.
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Hydes
Now based in Salford, Hydes is a long-established business, which has restructured itself…
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. It also has a significant and growing contract brewing business.
Shares are non-voting and traded from time to time with the company acting as facilitator.
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Joseph Holt
Founded in 1849, this family-controlled brewery now has sixth generation members involved…
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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Loch Lomond
Founded in 2011, the family run company produces traditional cask and supplies small…
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 financed a new brewing centre, but planning delays have frustrated further expansion on the site. It is hoped that an additional facility will be built nearby during 2024, which will probably also include a distillery as the company expands its single malt gin product lines.
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Loungers
Floated on AIM in April 2019, the company has over 240 predominantly café-bar outlets throughout…
Floated on AIM in April 2019, the company has over 240 predominantly café-bar outlets throughout England and Wales (but not central London) trading under the Cosy Club and Lounges brands.
The company launched a roadside restaurant brand, Brightside, in 2023. The aim is to open around 30 new sites each year with a longer term target of c600 outlets nationwide. Some of the 65 or so Club sites may sell cask or bottle-conditioned beers.
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Marston’s
Now a pub owning business, Marston’s merged its brewing interests into a joint company…
Now a pub owning business, Marston’s merged its brewing interests into a joint company with Carlsberg (CMBC) in June 2020. It then owned 40% of CMBC. In July 2024 it sold that stake to Carlsberg for c£200m, with completion likely before September 2024. As part of the sale it was reiterated that the existing supply agreement between the two companies would continue.
In December 2020, Marston’s 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 using the proceeds to reduce its debt burden: it runs some 1370 pubs in total, split roughly between c1200 managed and franchised outlets and some 200 tenanted or leased pubs.
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McMullens
McMullens has c125 tied pubs across South-East England, with a strong cask beer tradition…
McMullens has c125 tied pubs across South-East England, with a strong cask beer tradition. The business, founded in 1827, is still family controlled.
The Club owns preferred ordinary shares which are occasionally secondarily traded under company auspices.
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Mitchells & Butler
Mitchells & Butler is a leading pub company with over 1700 largely freehold sites across…
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, Ego, 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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Molson Coors
Based in Denver, Colorado, the company acquired parts of the Bass business from Interbrew…
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 a year (under licensing arrangements with other brewers) with Sharp’s capacity stated to be 200,000 barrels per year. Further investment at this site was announced in 2024. It owns a number of cask brands but 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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Nethergate
One of the original microbreweries (being formed in 1986), Nethergate had a troubled…
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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Shaftesbury Capital
A leading property company, owning what many view as the pre-eminent central London retail…
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 2.7m square feet of hospitality space.
It has a strong community focus in its heartland which is centred on Covent Garden, Chinatown, Carnaby Street, and Soho. In June 2024 the property portfolio had a value of c. £4.8bn. Main listed REIT.
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Shepherd Neame
Claiming to be the UK’s oldest continuous brewer (from 1698), the Kent based business…
Claiming to be the UK’s oldest continuous brewer (from 1698), the Kent based business owns some 300 pubs (c70 managed) in Kent, London, 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 Revel Collective
Founded in 1991, in Ashton under Lyne, the company originally focused on operating late…
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 late night economy has not recovered from the Covid lockdowns and the bars division has suffered and is being rationalised. The company also operates over 20 upmarket, food led pubs (many with rooms) based in the heart of England, which it acquired when it bought Peach Pubs in October 2022: these sites usually offer cask beers and the estate is being added to.
In late March 2024 it announced that it was exploring either a major restructuring and or seeking additional funding: court approval was granted in July 2024.
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Thwaites
The family-controlled business continues to brew and retail its own beers despite closing…
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 continues to rationalise its estate of 220 or so pubs (about 90% tenanted) and operates a number of country-house type 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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Twickenham Fine Ales
Founded in 2004 by American Steve Brown, the company now claims to be London’s oldest…
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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Wadworth
Founded in 1875 and based in Wiltshire and largely operating in the Wessex region…
Founded in 1875 and based in Wiltshire and 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 grade II listed Northgate brewery building is expected to be redeveloped: the new purpose built Folly Road site is now fully operational.
There is a complex share structure with Ordinary, A Ordinary and two classes of Cumulative Preference shares. Shares are now auction traded on AssetMatch.
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Wetherspoon
A leading pub operator with over 800 outlets (including c55 hotels and three franchises)…
A leading pub operator with over 800 outlets (including c55 hotels and three franchises) throughout the UK.
The Republic of Ireland estate is being significantly reduced. Elsewhere, the estate is not static and there are frequent disposals as well as an opening programme. The Board believes that the business can support 1000 sites. Over 70% of its premises are held freehold. Founded in 1979 and listed on the main London market.
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Whitbread
No longer directly brewing but owning over 300 pubs, operating under various brands…
No longer directly brewing but owning over 300 pubs, operating under various brands such as Beefeater and Brewers Fayre.
It also operates 785 hotels, some with bars attached.
Main London listing.
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Young & Co
Founded as a brewery in 1831, the company fully sold its beer brands to Charles Wells…
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: probably at Wolverhampton (see above).
Young’s now concentrates on its pubs, which are largely based in London and the South East but is expanding into the South West, East Anglia, and the Home Counties. There are roughly 290 houses (including hotels): most of the pubs are managed since the majority of its tenancies were sold to Punch in mid-2021. Recent acquisitions have focussed on pubs with rooms.
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.
Our Portfolio
Full listing refers to a quote on the main regulated London Stock Exchange (LSE). AIM is a sub-market of the LSE, with a more flexible regulatory regime and attracts smaller and or less viable companies than the main market.
Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE) is a recognised stock exchange based in London. A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a property company that must have 75% of its assets or revenue from property income, and must distribute 90% of its rental income to shareholders.
The portfolio is invested on an index-agnostic basis, using a process based upon stock picking but constrained by appropriate risk control parameters. It is ungeared, although individual companies within it do have borrowings secured on their own assets.
Whilst the contents of this note are thought to be accurate readers should not rely upon the information it contains.
The value of investments can go down as well as up, so an investor might not get back the amount originally invested when leaving the club.
CMIC Asset Allocation Guidelines
The below are set out as guidelines and not as targets, and their relevance will be monitored by the committee on an ongoing basis:
- Given the club’s focus, the majority of the portfolio is expected to be invested in UK listed companies. However, the overall geographic profile of the portfolio will change from time to time.
- The club’s policy is not to invest more than 15% of net assets in any one investment. The total number of holdings in the portfolio will vary, but the top positions will have a proportionally larger weighting.
- The club has allocated up to 5% of its investments to be held in “riskier” companies. This broad definition covers microbreweries and those stocks where security trading is restricted to other existing shareholders, the company, other prescribed persons, or similar.
- The committee is aware of the need to actively manage its cash resources carefully in line with the policy of being fully invested, whenever possible. Consequently, the club monitors the liquidity of its investments and recognises that holding a company that is fully listed on the London Stock Exchange, or other recognised stock exchange, does not necessarily mean that the investment is easily realisable. However, club policy will be to aim to have not less than 50% of net assets in fully listed securities; not more than 20% invested in AIM listed securities; and not more than 20% invested in companies traded on other UK security markets, such as AssetMatch or AQSE.
- The club may not use derivatives or gearing.
- The club will not, as a matter of course, hold more than 15% of the voting equity of an individual investment, but this policy is subject to preserving the club’s economic interests in such investments, where circumstances indicate it would be prudent to do so, as during money-raising or follow-on situations, for example.