Brewery’s collapse is due to the pandemic

Company’s revenue slumped to 50cp below its peak

A West Stirlingshire-based brewery business has gone into liquidation as a result of the pandemic.

Fallen Brewery had operated from leased premises at Kippen and as of this year employed five staff including director Paul Fallen.

It ceased trading on Friday, April 8 and Brian Milne and David Mcginness were appointed joint liquidators of the company on Monday, April 25.

Mr Milne said this week: “The company’s liquidation is a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Despite the director’s best efforts, the company was unable to recover to a sufficiently profitable level.

“We shall assist the company’s employees in ensuring they receive any appropriate statutory entitlements and urge any creditors to get in touch with our office.”

Fallen Brewery was incorporated in April 2012 following eight years of homebrewing and recipe trials by the directors.

The Kippen railway station premises were utilised as an operational brewery from April 2014.

The brewery gained plaudits as one of Scotland’s leading craft brewers and the business grew rapidly from 2014 to 2017.

To cope with the increasing demand for its products, the company expanded its production capacity and installed an automated canning line at the brewery in 2017.

In May of that year the company was approached by a worldwide brewing company to gauge interest in establishing a partnership in Scotland with the aim of adding the company’s products to its sales portfolio. The deal was due to be completed and the initial investment transferred in

March 2020.

However, this was put on hold until the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic could be assessed.

By June 2020, it was clear to all parties that the pandemic was going to be protracted and that it was going to have a significant impact on the licenced on-trade.

By mutual agreement both parties walked away from the proposed partnership.

Between June 2020 and April 2022, the company aimed to re-focus the business and rebuild its revenues.

Continued Covid-19 related restrictions and closures made this practically impossible.

The company could only sell online (direct-to-consumer) and its revenues dipped to below 50 per cent of its peak, having never recovered from the initial slump.

Ultimately the company could not generate enough revenue to service accruing and historic debt and the director sought advice from an insolvency practitioner in the first quarter of 2022.

Fallen Brewery’s Just The Ticket Hoppy Extra Pale and Blackhouse Smokey Beer had been included in Aldi’s Scottish Beer Festival in October 2019.

Despite the director’s best efforts, the company was unable to recover to a sufficiently profitable level. Brian Milne