'Mothballed' breweries call on Chancellor for rate relief to ensure their survival

Dave Shaw from the Hop Studio, Elvington. Picture: Tony JohnsonDave Shaw from the Hop Studio, Elvington. Picture: Tony Johnson
Dave Shaw from the Hop Studio, Elvington. Picture: Tony Johnson
Like many of his brewing counterparts across the region, Dave Shaw has been forced to “effectively mothball” his brewery, The Hop Studio, in Elvington.

Without the financial support afforded to pubs and restaurants, his industry, he said, is at risk of collapse.

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For eight years his beer has been sold in pubs from Bridlington to Calder Valley, the North York Moors to Chesterfield, but now, apart from a very small number of sales “from the front door”, this has all stopped.

The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), for which Mr Shaw is North East chairman, has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak asking him to halve beer duty bills for all British owned independent brewers based on the rate they paid last year.

Ian Fozard with sons Tom and Oliver at Roosters Brewery. Picture: Gerard BinksIan Fozard with sons Tom and Oliver at Roosters Brewery. Picture: Gerard Binks
Ian Fozard with sons Tom and Oliver at Roosters Brewery. Picture: Gerard Binks

It also calls for the business rates grants and holidays offered to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors be extended to breweries - which in turn, they say, will protect and secure the thousands of jobs in brewing and the supply chain.

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The Hop Studio sells approximately 90 per cent of its beer direct to pubs and wholesale, both of which “disappeared over night” when lockdown was announced.

Mr Shaw said: “We are asking the Chancellor to breath life into the industry. At the moment, there is a lot of speculation about when pubs will reopen, and not much certainty.The only thing we do know, is that when Boris (Johnson) stands up and says pubs can reopen, it is not going to be an instant rush to the bar.

“We are going to need life support beyond reopening until things return to something like normal - and if you support small brewers, it is not putting cash in the hands of directors or shareholders, it's the brewers, their staff, and their families.”

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Dave Shaw from the Hop Studio, Elvington. Picture: Tony JohnsonDave Shaw from the Hop Studio, Elvington. Picture: Tony Johnson
Dave Shaw from the Hop Studio, Elvington. Picture: Tony Johnson

SIBA chairman Ian Fozard runs Roosters Brewery in Harrogate with his two sons Tom and Oliver.

They usually sell around 1.5m pints of beer a year, but have been forced to furlough staff and halt much of production.

“Whereas the pub sector has had rate relief and cash grants, the brewery sector has not,” he said.

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“Like other businesses, you innovate and duck and dive to stay alive - we’ve been able to defer some payments, but that does not alter the fact these payments will eventually have to be paid.

“Our biggest outgoing is beer duty, and all we’re asking for is parity with the hospitality sector.”

The letter has been co-signed by Conservative MPs Julian Sturdy, for York Outer, and East Yorkshire’s Sir Greg Knight, who has four small breweries in his constituencies.

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He told the Yorkshire Post he was fully supportive of the Chancellor’s support for the hospitality industry so far, but that when rate relief plants were “rushed” through in response to the pandemic, some small businesses were left behind.

“Generally speaking, civil servants would have reflected on the plan for many months, and this was not possible due to the urgency of the pandemic,” he said “This is about protecting jobs until we can return back to a semblance of normality. Small business should not be forgotten about.”

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We have provided an unprecedented package of support for businesses. Our job retention scheme has helped a million employers and protected 8.9 million jobs across the U.K. We have extended it until October – meaning it will have been open for eight months and will continue to support businesses as the economy reopens and people return to work.

“As well as furloughing staff, we’ve introduced a wide range of other targeted support measures for different sectors, including bounce back loans and tax deferrals.”