Craft brewer raises a glass to multi-million pound BGF investment

Warwickshire-based Purity Brewing Co., one of the UK’s largest independent breweries, has received a £7.5m investment from BGF to support its organic growth strategy.

Founded in 2005 by Paul Halsey and Jim Minkin to brew “great beers with a conscience”, Purity makes high quality beers from its brewery in Great Alne.

With a commitment to brewing beer sustainably, Purity uses the latest heat-and-steam technology to reduce energy consumption at its 90,000 hectolitres brewery. A natural ‘wetland’ system cleanses the waste water and the spent hops are used as fertiliser on the local farm.

Purity, which was a big winner at the Business Masters Awards in 2017, scooping the Fast Growth and Small Business awards, has successfully built a national network of customers – with a quarter of sales going to Midlands-based independent free trade pubs.

BGF’s investment will be used to support Purity’s plans to expand across the UK, grow export sales, and to develop new products.

Halsey and Minkin will continue to lead the business, supported by Simon Brown as non-executive chair. Brown has a wealth of experience in the drinks sector having spent 25 years with Grand Metropolitan and Scottish and Newcastle and latterly in joint ventures with Heineken U.K. and C&C.

Halsey, founder and managing director of Purity, said: “We’ve made big strides for a growing company. Our vision has always been to create brilliant brands, value our people and put sustainability at the heart of everything we do, and we’re delighted to have the support of BGF to help us take our offering to the next level.

“We have an amazing team who know the secret to making great beer with real character, and our new partnership with BGF will allow us to access their expertise in helping businesses like ours to scale, as well as their extensive network.”

BGF’s Paul Oldham, who will join the board of Purity, said: “Purity has grown by attracting consumers who are increasingly looking for premium, innovative alternatives to the traditional ale brands. It’s an established and well-respected brand with fantastic products, and we’re excited to be able to help the team scale further.”

The investment in Purity was led by Gurinder Sunner, Joanne Smith, Chris Nixon and Olly Cutting who are based in BGF’s Birmingham office.

Advisors on the transaction:
Purity– PwC (Ian Birch), Higgs and Sons (Adrian Cutler and John Heaton), Spencer Gardner Dickins
BGF – Gateley (Simon Gill), Claritas (Iain Wright)

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