Entrepreneur snaps up stricken brewery for £120,000
Stricken Derbyshire brewer and pubco, Buxton Brewery, was sold out of administration in a pre-pack deal for just £120,000, it has emerged.
The firm was sold by administrators Interpath Advisory to local entrepreneur Jeremy Middleton, according to reports in hospitality trade title Propel.
A second, higher, offer of £145,000 was received from an unnamed bidder but was refused by the administrators as they deemed it unlikely to maximise a return to creditors.
An Interparth report said: “Subdued trading continued during the year to March 2023, which resulted in operating losses of circa £400,000 with a cash impact of circa £500,000.
“The business took on a Recovery Loan Scheme loan from Investec Asset Finance (£300,000) to support the company together with other short-term unsecured funding. However, cash flows remained constrained in part due to the increase in debt servicing costs.
“The business was unable to repay amounts due to HMRC, which totalled circa £500,000 as per the most recent set of management accounts (January 2024).
“In December 2023, the director approached a number of the company’s lenders and asset finance providers in an attempt to secure the refinancing of existing liabilities. These efforts were unsuccessful, and as a result the business was unable to demonstrate the required future cash flows necessary for a Time to Pay agreement with HMRC to be agreed.
“In order to assess their options in view of the ongoing liquidity position, the directors therefore approached Interpath to explore the refinance and sale options for the group.”
Established in 2009 and operating from a custom-built brewhouse in Buxton, Derbyshire, Buxton Brewery produces and sells craft ales, offering over 30 different brews brewed seven times a week at volumes of around 3,500 litres per brew.
Operating under the Buxton Brewery brand, it supplies supermarkets and pub chains nationally, exports overseas, and operates four taprooms and bars in Buxton, along with a pop-up bottle shop and an online store.
Buxton Brewery runs two pubs; the Tap House and Cellar in Buxton and the Treacle Tap in Macclesfield, which closed some weeks ago.
