Moorhouse’s, an independent brewery located in Lancashire, since 1865, announced that they will be taking action on the shrinking pub market to help their business grow.
Managing director, David Grant said that their beer sales are currently reduced due to the shrinking market and a booming craft beer industry. With an estimated figure of 20 pubs per month closing down, micropubs seem to be popping up at a rate of 12 per month. Moorhouse are hoping to expand by opening their own and are currently looking to acquire sites throughout the UK.
David said: “We now have our championship cask beers on the national stage, with pubs in the south and prestigious London venues. But, to survive as an emerging regional brewer, our challenge is to sell more beer in line with our new brewery plan when we invested to treble capacity five years ago.
“Having our own pubs is one way we can move forward. The whole pub and beer industry has changed immeasurably in the past few years. The number of micro breweries has tripled due to generous tax relief, giving them a trading advantage over bigger brewers. And they are all seeking local business – yet the number of pubs has fallen dramatically.
“We are being caught in a perfect storm with a shrinking market. Consequently I am actively looking at shops or small spaces in good strategic locations to open micropubs to complement the traditional pub model.”
Moorhouse’s currently own three community pubs throughout the UK, The Rising Sun in Blacko,Lancs, the Pendle Witch in Atherton and Craven Heifer in Rossendale.