De Vere Group
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Hotels |
| Founded | 1762 |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
Key people | Andrew Coppel (Group CEO) |
| Website | www.devere.co.uk |
De Vere Group is a hotels and leisure business which until the late 1990s was a brewing company known as Greenall's. It used to be listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History
Greenall's Brewery was founded by Thomas Greenall in 1762. Initially based in St Helens, the company relocated to Warrington in 1787.[1]
It bought the Groves & Whitnall Brewery in Salford in 1961,[2] Shipstone's Brewery in Nottingham in 1978[3] and Davenport's Brewery in Birmingham in 1986.[4] For much of the 20th century, the company traded as Greenall Whitley & Co Limited.[4] The St Helens brewery was demolished in the 1970s to make way for a new shopping centre. The Warrington brewery on the edge of Stockton Heath was bought by Bruntwood, renamed Wilderspool Business Park and is now let to office occupiers.[5]
It ceased brewing in 1991 to concentrate on running pubs and hotels.[6]
In 1999, the tenanted wing of the Greenall's operation was sold to the Japanese bank, Nomura for £370 million[7] and the main Greenall's operation, involving 770 pubs and 69 budget lodges, was sold to Scottish and Newcastle for £1.1billion.[8]
In 2005, The Belfry was sold by Greenalls to The Quinn Group for £186 million.[9]
The Greenall family connection remained as Lord Daresbury, the descendant of the original founder, remained the non-executive chairman. This tie was severed in 2006 when Daresbury stepped down from the post and much of the family's interest was sold.[10]
In 2006, De Vere Group was acquired by The Alternative Hotels Group plc, a joint venture between HBOS and eight investors led by Richard Balfour-Lynn,[11] for £745.5 million.[12] The Alternative Hotels Group plc renamed itself De Vere Group again in 2010.[13]
De Vere Group sold Greenall's London Dry Gin for £7 million in a private equity-backed management buyout in 2011.[14] Balfour-Lynn also stood down as chief executive in 2011.[15]
Operations
The Company is now focused on its hotel business, De Vere and Village Leisure.
Greenall's ales are distributed by Carlsberg and brewed for them by Molson Coors in Burtonwood, near Warrington.[16] Greenall's ales can still be bought in some pubs in the North West of England, although they are gradually disappearing. Often, only Greenall's Mild can be found. Greenall's Bitter is 3.6% ABV.[17] Greenall's Mild is 3.1%.[17] Greenall's beer is most often found in the St. Helens and Warrington areas, particularly in former Greenall's Houses.
Sponsorship
Greenall's sponsored Newcastle United and Huddersfield Town football clubs in the late 1980s. Greenall's was also involved with the Warrington Wolves Rugby League Club for some 115 years. The sponsorship ended in 1998 when Greenall's operations were sold to Scottish and Newcastle.
References
- ↑ "A Century of Cheshire Brewers". tripod.com. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ↑ Groves & Whitnall Brewery
- ↑ Nottinghamshire Breweries
- ↑ "Wilderspool Business Park". Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ↑ "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 14 Nov 1991". parliament.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ↑ Nomura set for 375m pound pub spree The Scotsman, 7 November 1998
- ↑ Greenalls pubs go Scottish BBC News, 14 September 1999
- ↑ Quinn buys Belfrey Golf Course Guardian, 11 February 2005
- ↑ Daresbury steps down at De Vere to break 244 years of family ties The Times, 18 January 2006
- ↑ Lloyds-backed Alternative Hotels Group may be sold Daily Mail, 12 February 2011
- ↑ Group completes De Vere buy-up Liverpool Daily Post, 6 September 2006
- ↑ The Alternative Hotel Group renamed as the De Vere Group Caterer Search, 17 December 2010
- ↑ De Vere sells historic gin distiller Insider Media, 8 August 2011
- ↑ Balfour-Lynn steps down from De Vere Group Caterer Search, 19 September 2011
- ↑ "Thomas Hardy Burtonwood (Molson Coors)". ratebeer.com. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- 1 2 Draught Portfolio