The deal, which is worldwide was agreed today (4th October), provides the Bedford-based brewer with an unrivalled range of premium beers and propels Wells and Young's into the top three premium ale brewers in the UK.
Charles Wells Ltd is one of 54 companies in the South East on the league, turning over £15.3billion in the UK economy, employing 94,000 people. The Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 league table ranks Britain’s biggest mid-market private companies by latest sales. It complements The Sunday Times Top Track 100 league table of Britain’s biggest private companies, and lists the next 101 to 350 biggest firms. Companies are ranked by sales reported in their latest accounts. Sales must not exceed £500m which is the size of the 100th-ranked company on the Top Track 100.
Following the announcement, chief executive of Charles Wells Ltd, Paul Wells said:
“This has been a busy year for the company. We are really proud to have achieved this position and increase our turnover in a challenging market. Since last October, we have invested six figure sums in a number of pubs, launched the groundbreaking ‘Bang on!’ Bombardier campaign, purchased the Young’s owned 40% stake in Wells and Young’s making the business 100% owned, and acquired the iconic Scottish McEwan’s and Younger’s beers.”
Nigel McNally, Managing Director of Wells and Young's says: 'This is a significant and major acquisition, and secures the future for the much loved McEwan's and Younger's brands.
'We are hugely excited about these fantastic Scottish ales joining our stable, they bring a wealth of opportunities to our business which we will realise through brand investment, innovation and exploiting export potential. We are committed to maintaining the rich Scottish heritage of the brands. We will continue brewing at the historic Caledonian Brewery and we will set up a small Scottish office to support the brands and our range of beers.”
Stefan Orlowski, Managing Director for Heineken UK added: 'We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Wells and Young's. We have a long term and valued relationship with them and they have already demonstrated that they can bring their expertise and investment to brands such as Courage. We know that the McEwan's and Younger's ales will complement their portfolio perfectly.”
In addition to buying McEwan's and Younger's, Wells and Young's has also bought the remaining 17% of the Courage beer brands from Heineken, following a deal in January 2007.
Wells and Young's is the UK's largest private brewing company based at the Eagle Brewery, Bedford. Founded by Charles Wells in 1876, the Wells family merged with Young's of Wandsworth in 2006. It has a portfolio spanning some of the UK's best known cask ales and speciality lager brands including Young's and Bombardier, and Estrella Damm and Kirin Ichiban lagers.
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