SPANISH brewer SA Damm is set to be the new owner of the historic Eagle Brewery in Bedford.
Current owner the Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company expects to complete the sale by the end of this year.
The move is a major step for the brewing company, which brews the premium beer Estrella Damm. The Eagle Brewery pictured top will become its first brewery outside mainland Europe and only the second outside Spain.
All 67 production staff working at the Eagle Brewery will transfer to Damm’s workforce in the UK. CMBC’s logistics operation in Bedford will continue from its current location on the site for around the next 12 months, before moving to a new location.
SA Damm’s executive president Demetrio Carceller Arce said: “This deal will strengthen our position in the UK market and help drive our brand in the UK, a key market for the company’s international growth. The British public can currently enjoy our products in more than 10,000 bars and restaurants, a figure we expect to continue to grow in the coming years.”
CMBC and Damm have maintained a long and successful partnership distributing Estrella Damm. The UK is one of Estrella Damm’s key export markets and much of the partnership’s activity has taken place at the Eagle Brewery, where Estrella Damm has been packaged for the UK market since 2010.
Under the sale agreement, Eagle Brewery beers including British ale brands Hobgoblin and Wainwright will remain part of the CMBC portfolio.
CMBC chief executive Paul Davies pictured right said: “I am grateful to all of my colleagues and their counterparts at Damm for their collaboration throughout the process of making this agreement a reality.
“This significant moment for the brewery, becoming Damm’s first brewery outside mainland Europe, has been made possible thanks to the brilliant and dedicated team at the Eagle Brewery, who we will be supporting throughout the transition.”
