Historic brewery to close as Tolly is sold

T.D.Ridley & Sons, the Essex-based brewer, has bought the Tollemache & Cobbold Brewery business for an undisclosed sum.

Tolly Cobbold's 279-year-old Cliff Road Brewery will close.

Ridley will take control of six Tolly pubs plus the wholesaling and distribution business, as well as a clutch of brands including the flagship ale, Original.

The deal effectively doubles Ridley's turnover.

The contract that Tolly had to deliver on behalf of Carlsberg- Tetley throughout East Anglia, will be inherited by Ridley as part of the deal.

The deal represents yet more consolidation in regional brewing and the closure of yet another site.

Tolly faced closure in 1990 but was saved when the management bought the business.

"13 years ago this brewery was dead in the water," said Tolly managing director Bob Wales. "And 20 years prior to that it had been a case of corporate pass-the-parcel.

"We have sold the business because we simply reached a stage where we could longer continue. It is simply a case of far too much capacity chasing too little volume."

Mr Wales will join the Ridley's board.

Commenting on the deal, Ridley managing director Brian Field said: "This really moves us forward - we now have delivery access to the whole of East Anglia."