Thwaites looks to future with plans for a new brewery

18.08.2011

Lancashire brewer Daniel Thwaites has announced that it plans to build a new

state-of-the-art brewery, which will provide a platform for long-term growth and

sustain employment.

The company's current brewery in Blackburn town centre was built in 1966. It does

not provide the flexibility or efficiency for the demands of today's market and

requires significant modernisation.

Following a strategic review, the company, which employs over 300 people in

Blackburn, has decided that moving to a new brewery and offices on a different site

is the best way to improve its operational efficiency and remain competitive.

Thwaites is working in partnership with Sainsbury's, which has agreed to buy the

existing site subject to planning consent being granted for a supermarket, and the

proceeds from this sale will help to fund the construction of the new brewery.

Given the requirement for planning consent, exact timescales are not certain.

However, it is anticipated that the move will take between three and four years.

In addition, Thwaites is in preliminary discussions with Blackburn with Darwen

Council to help identify a suitable local site for the new brewery.

"This is a great opportunity for us to address the challenges that we face with our

existing brewery and to reinvigorate our business by building a new modern and

efficient brewery," said the company's chief executive Richard Bailey.

"It signals our commitment to brewing our fine ales over the longer term and

underpins sustainable employment locally.

"While we have been in the centre of Blackburn for over 200 years, times have

changed and these plans allow us to lay strong foundations for the future."