Old Spanish Hen? Estrella snaps up Greene King beer brand in UK expansion
The British arm of Spanish beer giant Estrella is set to snap up Greene King’s iconic Old Speckled Hen beer as it continues to expand in the UK.
Damm UK, the British arm of Barcelona based brewer S.A. Damm – which owns Estrella – will take on the entire line of Old Speckled Hen beers, including its non-alcoholic and golden ale versions.
Old Speckled Hen will initially still be brewed at Greene King’s Westgate Brewery in Bury-St-Edmunds, before later being moved to Damm’s Eagle Brewery in Bedford.
The Spanish brewer bought the brewery – which had formerly been run by Youngs and Carlsberg – for £70m last year, marking its first major expansion beyond Spain.
Beer began in car factory
Old Speckled Hen was first brewed in 1979 when an MG Factory in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, commissioned a new beer to celebrate its 50th anniversary.
Morland, the Abingdon-based brewers who originally made the beer, sold Old Speckled Hen to Greene King in 1999.
The pub chain has since expanded the beer’s popularity, including a 2008 rebrand designed to market the tipple to a younger audience using a run of TV ads featuring a fox and a hen.
Luke White, managing director of Damm UK, said: “Old Speckled Hen is an iconic British ale brand with a rich heritage and loyal following, and we are proud that Greene King has chosen Damm UK to take the brand forward into its next chapter.
“We have great respect for the history Greene King has built around Old Speckled Hen over the last 25 years and look forward to working closely together throughout the transition period to ensure continued success for the brand, customers and consumers alike.”
Greene King sheds weight
The sale comes as part of Greene King’s plans to focus on brewing beer for sale in its own pubs, as Old Speckled Hen accounted for 50 per cent of the brewer’s sales outside of its pubs.
The firm is set to open its new £40m brewery in Bury-St-Edmunds next year, where it will ramp up production of beers like Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale and Level Head.
Nick Mackenzie, Greene King’s chief executive, said he is “delighted” to have a buyer who has committed to brewing the beer in the UK.
“We look forward to working closely in partnership with Damm and seeing Old Speckled Hen’s future success under their ownership,” he said.
The pivot will see Greene King deliver its beers “to the pubs where our customers most love to drink them” and prepare the firm for “long-term profitable growth,” Mackenzie said.
The pub firm announced earlier this year it will offload 150 pubs into leased or tenanted agreements and sell a further 150.
Mackenzie said this decision was prompted by the “unprecedented costs” facing the hospitality industry and called on the government to commit to “long-term permanent reform” to taxes on the sector.
Damm UK did not disclose a fee or the terms of its agreement to acquire Old Speckled Hen.