Danish brewing giant Carlsberg has set out plans to close its Marston’s brewery in the UK, pointing to a weak ale market.
In a statement today (8 October), the group’s UK arm said staff and trade union partners had been told of the proposal to shut the site, as well as “its primary logistics operation” north of Birmingham, as of next year.
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The site, located in Burton upon Trent, produces ale brands such as Hobgoblin, McEwan’s and Brooklyn.
Carlsberg said these “priority ale brands” would stay within the group’s portfolio, while it is “actively seeking new homes for other cask and regional ale brands”.
It said the move was “driven both by structural category decline and a need to create greater long-term value”.
Just Drinks has asked Carlsberg to confirm the names of the brands it is proposing to sell and its plans for the production of Hobgoblin, McEwan’s and Brooklyn.
Paul Davies, the CEO of Carlsberg’s UK business Carlsberg Britvic, said he recognised “the impact of this proposal is significant”.
He added: “While we remain proud of the role we have played in supporting and investing in the ale category overall, the stark reality is that UK cask ale volumes have more than halved in less than a decade, and this trend looks set to continue across the UK.
“It is my role to ensure Carlsberg Britvic’s multi-beverage portfolio is focused where consumers are today, and where customer demand is growing. That said, smaller ale brands are much loved by select consumers, and we will do everything we can to ensure they thrive under more specialist or local ownership in the future.”
Davies said that the brewery and the primary logistics activities were expected to continue running as Carlsberg “works through the detail of the consultation”.
Carlsberg shut its Banks’s brewery in the English Midlands last year. When the closure was announced in 2024, the site was then managed by Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC).
The business at the time cited declining cask-ale volumes and a decision by Mahou San Miguel “not to renew its long-term exclusive licence partnership” from 2025.
In 2023, CMBC closed the Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire and Ringwood Brewery further south in Hampshire.
In May 2023, the company sold its already-closed London Fields Brewery and taproom to London pub operator Grace Land Group.
The year before, the venture sold Eagle Brewery to S.A. Damm, a deal that gave the Spanish group its first brewery in the UK.
CMBC also announced the winding down and closure of Jennings Brewery in September 2022.
