Time called as Archers brewery goes into administration (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Time called as Archers brewery goes into administration
7:40am Tuesday 24th March 2009 in News
ARCHERS, the Swindon brewery, has gone into administration – for the third time in its 30 year life. Seven jobs are at risk.
It brewed its final beer last week and closed its doors on Friday although the administrators are looking for a new buyer.
“It is sad that Archers has slipped into administration,” said Paul McConnell, an insolvency practitioner with Monahans, who is the agent of the company.
“We are actively seeking a buyer to try and keep the beers in production.
“The fact that we have been brought in as administrators is due to the current economic climate.”
Established in 1979, the brewery has been handcrafting and brewing award-winning ales for 30 years and when it last fell into administration in 2007 it was saved by John Williams, a local entrepreneur.
He bought the business and assets of Archers and at that time it secured the employment of more than a dozen staff at the Penzance Drive site.
Mr Williams snapped up the business and assets for an undisclosed amount, as a going concern, after the company ran into financial difficulties.
Mr Williams, 62, had hoped to bring a new direction to the brewery and at the time of buying the brewery described it as “an investment for the future.”
The administrators then were PricewaterhouseCoopers and David Bennett, a director and joint administrator said: “We are very pleased to have been able to save both the brand and the jobs of local people.”
Archers brewed more than 190 different ales making it a producer of one of the largest range of cask ales worldwide.
Unless a buyer comes forward in the next few weeks it is unlikely that the brewery will survive.
Comments(7)
Osho
says...
8:46am Tue 24 Mar 09
go to pubs anymore,.. no atmosphere and just somewhere to eat rather than socialise. It's a real shame, small local firms are so vital.
Big Mac
says...
8:52am Tue 24 Mar 09
This government knew full well the havoc it would wreak on the licensed trade and brewers when they introduced the smoking ban. Combined with the relentless tax/duty increases on alcohol and now the recession, it's no wonder that this industry sector is all buy in its knees.
Although the number of jobs set to be lost at Archers may not be huge, for those concerned this is a disaster and for the town itself, seeing Archers close would be a sad day indeed.
Al Smith
says...
9:24am Tue 24 Mar 09
I'd say things probably haven't been well since the collapse of Burns Leisure who took them over around 2000.
Jock Strap
says...
10:29am Tue 24 Mar 09
forcryingoutloud
says...
12:18pm Tue 24 Mar 09
Steve Halden
says...
7:04pm Tue 24 Mar 09
The smoking ban put an end to that tradition, and now 39 pubs are closing every week.
Archers Brewery is just another victim of the smoking ban.
The EU has recently voted for a ban on patio heaters to take effect in 2010.
Smokers will nolonger be allowed to huddle round patio heaters to keep warm in winter.
Many more pubs and breweries will go bust when the ban on patio heaters comes into effect in 2010.
Ian13 says...
8:01am Tue 24 Mar 09
If you had honoured your election pledge to allow smoking to continue in non-food pubs and clubs we would not be losing our pubs and breweries like this.