Leeds Brewery to triple capacity following investment

Leeds Brewery is set to triple its weekly production capacity following investment from Finance Yorkshire.

The independent brewery, best known for its Leeds Pale cask ale, is adding two tanks to its newly-tiled brew house, which will help to meet growing demand from drinkers for keg beers.

The expansion has been part-funded by a £50,000 Business Loan from Finance Yorkshire.

Leeds Brewery was established in June 2007 by University friends Sam Moss and Michael Brothwell. It is now the city’s largest brewery with a turnover of around £9m.

Sam said: “We have been close to capacity so we needed to invest in extra tanks. This investment gives us the confidence to push ahead with our expansion plan.

“The new tanks mean we can triple our capacity from 70,000 to more than 200,000 pints a week. We are putting the foundations in place to grow the business over the longer term.”

The brewery produces Leeds Pale, Leeds Best, Yorkshire Gold and Midnight Bell alongside keg beers including Leodis lager and Monsoon.

Sam said: “It is a great period for independent breweries and that is driven by consumer demand for beer in pubs and bars. Leeds is a great example of that with a booming independent sector serving quality beers in interesting locations.

“Competition is fierce and getting fiercer but our business strategy hasn’t changed – we want to brew beer in Yorkshire for Yorkshire people to drink.”

Finance Yorkshire’s John Ellis said: “The ale market is going through a renaissance and Leeds Brewery’s beers are highly popular with drinkers. We were pleased to be able to support Sam and Michael as they expand capacity and prepare the business for a prosperous and sustainable future.”

To date, Finance Yorkshire has invested £100 million in Yorkshire and Humber, enabling companies to increase their turnover by £366 million and attract a further £257 million from other private sector sources. Through this activity, Finance Yorkshire investment has helped those SMEs to create and safeguard more than 11,000 jobs in the region.

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, UK Government and the European Investment Bank. Finance Yorkshire is also supported by the Regional Growth Fund.

For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or call 0300 030 6060.

Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire