More investment for Sharp’s Brewery
A statement filed to Companies House outlined that following £2.5m of investment to expand last year, there were further intentions to grow the brewery.
“The company has a capital expansion plan to support the continued growth of its production capacity,” read the document.
Finance director Simon Kerry, who has worked for a number of beer and cider companies, wrote: “An extensive capital investment programme was launched following acquisition [by Molson Coors] in 2011 to improve and enhance the brewing capacity of the Rock site.”
He continued: “£2,546,739 has been invested in 2016 mainly in brewery assets to increase capacity on site.”
60m pints last year
Over the past five years, the brewery has increased the number of staff from 70 to 145 and the site brewed around 60m pints last year.
In the accounts, the brewery reports turnover up £41.6m for the 12 months to 31 December 2016, from £40.9m the previous year. Pre-tax profits were up £600,000 to £2.1m for the same period.
Growth was driven mainly by increased sales of cask ales Doom Bar and Atlantic Pale Ale, as well as increased business with big pub chains.
Investment in research and development were also highlighted in the report to Companies House, but no detailed information was given.
Sharp's senior marketing manager James Nicholls told The Morning Advertiser: "2016 was another positive year for Sharp’s, with our flagship beer Doom Bar remaining the UK’s number one selling cask and premium bottled ale brand.
"Our parent company continues to invest in our brewery in Rock, Cornwall where all of our cask beer is produced and in 2016 invested £2.5m in a new racking line to increase capacity."
'High demand from on-trade'
He added: "This investment will help ensure we continue to respond to the high demand from the on-trade for our award-winning cask beers in future."
However, the Cornish brewer recently announced the launch of a hop-infused gin earlier this month.
Sharp’s Brewery beer sommelier Ed Hughes said: “Since launching this exciting collaboration, we’ve received fantastic feedback from customers so we were eager to make The Hopster a fixed member of the Sharp’s portfolio.
“A huge part of what we do here at the brewery is experimenting with styles, flavours and products to push boundaries within the drinks industry, and The Hopster gin is a brilliant example of this. Thanks to our friends at Southwestern Distillery for working with us to produce this awesome gin”.
Molson Coors bought the brewery for £20m in 2011, vowing to heavily invest in the business and expand capacity.
