Administrators to seek buyer for Somerset craft brewer

Somerset-based craft beer brewer The Wild Beer Co has entered administration, according to a statement released by the company. The statement revealed that administrators from Undebt.co.uk have been appointed and will now seek a buyer to acquire the business.

According to reports, joint administrators Sam Talby and Rob Coad are hopeful of finding a buyer for the business. However, the company’s statement confirmed that it would halt trading during the administration process.

The Wild Beer Co was founded in 2012 and produces a wide range of beers, including pale ales, sour beers, stouts, vegan beers and alcohol-free beers. The company also has a bar and taproom in Bristol’s Wapping Wharf, a second location was previously opened in Cheltenham, but closed in 2019.

Over the past decade, the company had been hailed as one of the leaders of the UK’s craft beer boom. In 2017, it raised around £1.76 million from close to 2,000 investors, with the funding earmarked for growing the firm’s bar and restaurant business, building a new brewery and developing its barrel ageing.

However, despite this success, the company said in a statement posted to its social media that it had been impacted by a “number of adverse trading conditions”. Its administration comes amid an escalating crisis in the UK’s hospitality sector, with a survey released in October revealing that a third of hospitality firms fear they could be out of business by the start of next year.

In its statement, the company said: “The administrators are attempting to seek out potential buyers to acquire the business, however at this time, we have made the decision to halt any trading. We will continue to provide updates as and when it is necessary.”

It continued: “We could see the potential for Wild Beer and we had ambitions to increase sales and brand exposure. We must sadly report that the company has been facing a number of adverse trading conditions including; Covid, the loss of export sales, spiralling production costs, damaging inflation, and an increase in interest rates that have all affected sales. These factors along with the recent cost-of-living crisis have impacted the company’s ability to succeed.”

The statement, addressed to the firm’s customers, concluded that the company “hope to resolve the current position shortly and will update you as soon as we are able to do so”.


Read more about the struggles facing UK hospitality and the potential impact on M&A.

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