Hop Stuff Brewery kicks off £1.5m expansion

After raising hundreds of thousands through crowdfunding, the four-year-old Royal Arsenal-based brewery is now able to pump £1.5m into an expansion.

The brewery has grown from a one-man team with a £60,000 turnover to a £1m business with more than 20 staff, according to founder and owner James Yeomans.

He said: “The funds will be used to invest in new bars, and expand the brewhouse. We also have some significant new hires to announce in the coming weeks." 

Increased smaller pack offer​

He added: “We’re now actively looking for new sites, and are proceeding with a new 40bbl (brewer's barrels) brewhouse and 65cpm (cans per minute) canning line to increase our small pack offering for the first time since opening in 2013.”

Hop Stuff’s Taproom business will be a big focus of the expansion because the business has just one flagship site in south-east London.

Up to four more Taprooms will be developed across London and the south-east over the next two years, he added.

Hop Stuff’s Crowdcube pitch to potential investors said: “We have a demonstrable track record of beating our own forecasts."

Profits set to rise​

It continued: “In 2013, we forecast Hop Stuff would be turning over around £480,000 by this year; we’re currently on track to double that (based on four months of sales). Profitability is set to rise with the growth of our own outlets and cost-saving efficiency of the new brewhouse.”

Hacker Young of accountancy group UHY told The Investment Observer​ ​last month that drinkers in the UK are increasingly willing to pay a premium for craft beers.

Young said: “Craft beer is leading the way in the surging popularity of artisan products and has pushed aside other brands in high street bars. Many are now firmly established household names.”

As a result, microbreweries have turned into highly profitable businesses that are able to tap into niche markets, added Young.