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Case Study: Abbeydale Brewery

Published: May 2006

The Company

Abbeydale Brewery Ltd has been whetting the palates of ale drinkers across the region since 1996. The family firm was established by Patrick Morton and his father Hugh.

Patrick had been involved in the brewing industry before the formation of Abbeydale Brewery. He was head brewer of a microbrewery partnership and put his expertise to use by producing a range of highly acclaimed brews but sought a greater challenge and wanted to develop a range of contemporary real ales.

The company soon established itself in premises on Aizlewood Road, Abbeydale, Sheffield.

The family has a long-standing history in the city, stemming back to Morton’s cutlery business which ceased manufacturing from its West Street premises in 1983.

Director Chris Morton said: "The family business goes back at least four generations in Sheffield’s steel and cutlery industry, but it has to be said that making beer is much more fun than manufacturing scissors!"

The Challenge

The company felt the climate was ripe for expansion and wanted to increase the number of beers the brewery produced.

The objective for the expansion was to initiate significant production of high quality beers and to help re-establish Sheffield’s reputation as a beer producing city. The company’s ‘Moonshine’ beer currently outsells any other microbrewery produced beer in Sheffield’s bars and pubs

The company expansion plan also included the purchase of their first pub - the Rising Sun at Nether Green.

The Solution

Abbeydale Brewery turned to South Yorkshire Investment Fund for help with funding the expansion and a £150,000 loan was agreed.

In addition to the loan from SYIF, the company also received a £50,000 Food and Tourism grant from Invest for Growth (IFG) – administered by Business Link South Yorkshire.

The funding will be used to increase their brewing capacity from 70 to 150 barrels of beer per week.

Said Chris: "The funding will allow the company to grow much more quickly than would otherwise be possible. This investment will enable to us to economise the brewing process and to pay greater attention to quality throughout."

SYIF Investment Director Clive Downward, said: "Abbeydale Brewery is an established company with a very high quality product and the management have a clear vision for future development."

Progress to Date

With the funding in place, Abbeydale Brewery has been able to press forward with its expansion plans and has also secured the purchase of the Rising Sun pub. The pub has nineteen draft beers, including ten hand pumps, and showcases Abbeydale Brewery beers alongside a selection of guest beers from South Yorkshire and beyond.

The company hopes that its expansion will lead to greater success and further acclaim.

Said Chris: "Sheffield has always been a hallmark for quality and the city had a proud tradition of brewing beer on a large scale through companies like Stones and Wards."

"Wards was the last significant regional brewer in beer in Sheffield and we see our expansion as a step on the return path to volume brewing."

SYIF’s Clive said: "We are pleased that the SYIF loan will go towards cementing their place as a premier brewery and in supporting their expansion plans."

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