Robinsons Brewery to continue investment in operations

Despite a challenging economic environment, Robinsons Brewery will continue to pursue its strategy of investment across its pub estate and brewing operations, Joint Managing Director, William Robinson, has told trade publication, The Morning Advertiser.

The Stockport family-run brewer estimates business costs will increase by around £2 million over the course of this year, largely from rising employment, energy and supply costs. However, the business has protected its capital spending by improving efficiencies.

William Robinson (pictured) explained:

“Investment drives growth and, without growth, you go backwards. It’s a fundamental pillar of what we do.”

The majority of Robinsons’ investment will go towards its pubs across the North West and North Wales. This includes refurbishment works, as well as adding bedrooms and function rooms, with investment over the past ten years into improving property standards helping to bring down maintenance costs.

Capital investment has also gone into sustainability improvements, such as solar panels and energy management projects, as well as the Greener Pub Retailing initiative for its licensees.

In its brewing operations, Robinsons Brewery has recently completed an £8 million project to consolidate production at its new facility in Bredbury.

Looking ahead, William Robinson told The Morning Advertiser it was looking to government policies around VAT and business rates to ensure the brewer can continue with its investment plans, including learning from the successes of support for the hospitality sector during the Covid-19 pandemic; he said:

“The first letter through the letterbox after you’ve done an investment can’t be an increase in business rates. If government can address that and avoid adding further taxation, we can continue to invest as we would wish to.”