Budweiser's Mortlake brewery given temporary reprieve

A surprise jump in sales of Budweiser has prompted AB InBev, the beer's producer, to postpone the closure of its Stag Brewery, in Mortlake, West London, until the end of December 2011 at the earliest.

The brewery had been set to close this year following a review of InBev's UK operation after its merger with US brewing giant Anheuser Busch, which owned the Mortlake operation.

A spokesperson for AB InBev said: "Budweiser is growing from strength to strength in the UK and exceeding our expectations therefore we have decided to postpone the closure of the Stag brewery in the short term.

"We will review the closure timeline in May 2011 and are currently planning to postpone the closure until at least December 2011. Fundamental issues with the site mean that it remains our intention to close the Stag Brewery.

"This decision has been communicated to our employees who remain our first priority and will be treated with dignity and respect throughout this process."

At the time of AB InBev's closure announcement in January last year the brewer said the consultation process was "a response to challenging market conditions and significantly higher costs imposed as a result of record rises in beer taxation", with action needed sooner rather than later.