UK: North London brewer Beavertown sells its final stake to Heineken

North London brewer Beavertown has sold its final 51% stake of its business to Heineken for an undisclosed sum, The Drinks Business reported on September 7.

The move follows the maker of Gamma Ray and Neck Oil having already sold a 49% stake of its business to Heineken back in June 2018 for £40 million after months of speculation from the beer world.

Following the 2018 deal with Heineken, Beavertown put funds towards building a new brewing facility in Tottenham Hale called Beaverworld with 10 times the brewing capacity of its former site.

Historically, Beavertown has developed a cult following specific to its craft brewery image and its founder Logan Plant had previously been very vocal on the importance of craft breweries being distinct from corporate macro beer companies.

Last summer, Beavertown Brewery announced plans for the launch of its first ever pub, Corner Pin, situated in the heart of the brewery’s hometown in Tottenham, north London.

The brewer, which has always had a very loyal following in north London, had also formerly struck a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to open a microbrewery and taproom at the stadium, which both parties claimed was a “premier League first.”

Sources reveal that the sale of the final stake of Beavertown to Heineken will see the departure of Plant from the beer scene and only keeping a title of “consultant”. However, industry sources have already queried how influential he will be now that he has sold up.

Following the minority stake sale in 2018, Plant kept his position as CEO and owner of the company, and had reassured that “the relationships with our accounts, distributors, suppliers and brewing family and friends stays exactly the same. Who we work with and how we work with them stays exactly the same”.

The new deal, however, will mark the beginning of some changes. Most notably, Plant’s absence and Heineken’s complete guidance on what happens next with the brewery, its beers and how it proceeds from here.

Speaking to db about the sale, a Heineken spokesperson revealed: “Today’s announcement builds on a long term partnership between Heineken UK and Beavertown Brewery and will see Beavertown continue to expand and flourish while remaining committed to its independent creativity. The current Beavertown management team will continue to operate the company as a separate business – the only change to the existing management team will be Logan stepping down and Jochen Van Esch becoming MD. Logan will still be involved as a creative consultant.”

07 September, 2022