UK, London: Danish brewer Carlsberg said on March 11 it was dropping the name of its well-known British beer Tetley's from its UK company name and will now become known simply as Carlsberg UK, according to Reuters. The former name, Carlsberg-Tetley, was created in 1993 when Carlsberg merged its UK brewing operation with that of Allied Domecq, but after Allied pulled out in 1996 and then a merger with Bass was blocked, Carlsberg took full control in 1997.

Carlsberg UK Chief Executive Colin Povey said in a statement that the name change highlighted the growing integration of the UK business with its Copenhagen-based parent. Carlsberg will continue to run the Tetley brewery in Leeds, northern England, where Joshua Tetley started brewing in 1822, and its original Carlsberg brewery in Northampton, 100 kms north of London. The UK-based group is the number four brewer in Britain with a market share of around 12 percent from its Carlsberg, Carlsberg Export and Tetley's brands, behind market leader Scottish & Newcastle, Coors and Interbrew.

12 March, 2004