Thomas Hardy invests £2.5m in Dorchester brewery site
by The PMA Team Thomas Hardy Brewery is to invest £2.5m on its site in Dorchester, despite the sale of the freehold of the site by Eldridge Pope last month. The brewer, which employs 70 people on the Dorset site, holds two leases of 24 years from 1997, covering about 70% of the land sold by Eldridge Pope. It currently brews for Morrells of Oxford and Refresh, but is hoping to win new contracts. Managing director Peter Ward said: "Dorchester brewery has a new landlord but, for the foreseeable future, it is very much business as usual. "We are intending to take on new brewing contracts and the £2.5m will be invested in the packaging plant to handle PET beer bottles." Eldridge Pope exchanged contracts to sell the freehold of its entire 11.27 acre site at Dorchester for £7.15m to property developer Landworth Properties [Dorchester] Ltd last month. The pubco is paying £100,000 a year for five years, to lease back the two listed buildings facing Weymouth Avenue the Thomas Hardy Hall and Dorchester Wine Centre to continue as their headquarters. Thomas Hardy Brewery, which employs 70 people, occupies a listed building on the site dating from 1880 and a packaging plant opposite. It has been rumoured that Thomas Hardy Brewery was offered £1.2m to surrender the unexpired 18 years of the two leases to 2021. Ward said: "We have never been offered anything, but if they did, we would refuse it. "I have built this business up from nothing, so why should I walk away from it." Eldridge Pope has sold its minority shareholdings a 15% stake in Thomas Hardy Brewery Ltd, and 40% in Thomas Hardy Packaging Ltd apart from one share for an aggregate £1.5m. Both companies will now be wholly owned by Peter Ward, apart from the nominal two shares retained by EP. Eldridge Pope currently operates 119 managed houses and 55 tenancies.
