Denmark & United Kingdom: Carlsberg closing one of its UK breweries to maximize efficiency

Following a detailed year-long review of its supply chain, Carlsberg UK announces on November, 5 a proposal to close their Leeds brewery in 2011.

The Danish brewer said its UK subsidiary needs to maximise efficiency in order to remain competitive in the face of increasingly challenging market conditions resulting from falling consumption, higher duties, input inflation and regulatory pressure.

Unfortunately, in this environment it can no longer justify running two major breweries in the UK, the brewer said.

Carlsberg, which also has a brewery in Northampton, took control of the historic Leeds facility, built by Joshua Tetley in 1822, when it bought its British rival Allied Lyons in 1992 in a move that also gave it access to the Tetley brand. But rising prices, economic uncertainty and tightening credit have increased pressure on household finances in recent months, contributing to a 7 per cent fall in UK beer consumption in the last year, according to the British Beer & Pub Association.

07 November, 2008