New owners sought for Bradford Brewery
BRADFORD BREWERY has been put up for sale after running out of money, the business turnaround firm put in charge of the sale process has said.
The business was rumoured to have closed down after it shuttered its brewery tap bar on Saturday.
However, it will continue to run the Exchange Ale House on Market Street in the city centre until a buyer can be found for the business through an accelerated sales process.
A spokesman for Leedsbased business turnaround firm Chamberlain & Co said: “The minimum level of future investment required is estimated to be £50,000.”
Phillip Ogg was an original investor when it opened in 2015. He was appointed managing director in 2017. Speaking to The Yorkshire
Post, he said: “I wasn’t involved in managing it from the outset. It got into trouble very quickly and I was asked along with [finance director] Mark Lister to help the business, to see whether we could bring it back on its feet.
“After an 18-month battle we can’t really. We’ve given it everything we could including a lot of money. That’s as much as we can do.”
Mr Ogg attributed the closure of the brewery tap bar down to a drop in footfall.
Mr Ogg said: “The brewery tap bar during its first ten and a half months did over £300,000.
“Each year it’s dropped 40 per cent as more bars opened on North Parade. This year it’s only been doing £5,000 a month. It’s not sustainable.”
He sees a brighter future for the Exchange Ale House, which the Bradford Brewery took over in 2017.
“The Exchange is a nice bar that is developing but it’s not quite at break even,” Mr Ogg said. “It’s almost there. It just needs a bit more time.”
Bradford Council provided £170,000 in rates rebate and capital grant from the City Centre Growth Scheme to the brewery when it first launched.
A spokesman for the council said: “We have been in touch with the owners to see if there is anything we can do to keep the business going.”
Chamberlain & Co said either the shares or business and assets can be purchased. Interested parties are being asked to contact Chamberlain & Co on 0113 2420808 or by email on: mail@ chamberlain-co.com.
We’ve given it everything we could including a lot of money. Phillip Ogg, managing director of Bradford Brewery