HELLO and welcome to the AM Business Briefing, as Scottish craft brewer Stewart Brewing has announced it is set to double its output and create 18 new jobs.
It comes after the firm secured £840,000 backing from Royal Bank of Scotland.
Despite 80% of Stewart Brewing’s stockists being forced to shut during to the pandemic, the small business was quick to adapt and with support from customers and retail partners moved into canned beers which now accounts for 70% of the brewery’s turnover.
Support from RBS, the family business’s financial partner since 2004, has allowed for a new warehouse and packaging site to be built, which will see the craft brewery increase its canned selection, and extend its core beer range.
The new warehouse will “further fortify the brewery’s position in the canned beer sector”, while providing the family business with space to continue to create innovative and alternative beer flavours; putting Stewart Brewing, and Edinburgh, at the forefront of the craft beer industry.
Steve Stewart, managing director at Stewart Brewing, said: “Edinburgh was founded on brewing, banking and business, so it’s important to us that we are able to play a part in continuing this legacy. Despite the difficulties the sector has faced over the past 18 months, we are incredibly proud that we have been able to continue with our plans for expansion.
“We are lucky enough to have a financial partner who is confident in us and our business, and has an aptitude and breadth of knowledge of the sector. Our relationship with Royal Bank of Scotland has been an asset to us as we pushed forward our growth plans during a time which posed more problems than it did solutions.
“This funding is going far to help us move in the right direction, which will ultimately enable us to grow after the pandemic, as well as increasing job opportunities in Edinburgh and beyond.”
Angus Johnstone, of RBS, said: “We pride ourselves on looking at the business and people beyond the numbers, and Stewart Brewing is a perfect example of this.
“Steve, Jo and the team are incredibly passionate about the business and their expertise in the sector has given us the confidence to support them at every turn. It’s great to see the company grow, and it’s testament to them that no matter the circumstances, all stakeholders have remained confident and ready to help.”
Scottish investment company to lose independence in deal
The board of Scottish Investment Trust, which was founded in 1887, has agreed a deal which will end the company’s long history as an independent, self-managed fund.
Homes market 'strongest in Scotland'
Bellway has said its market is strongest in Scotland, as the company posted soaring annual profits.
If you have been forwarded this article and would like to sign up, or view our new range of newsletters, click below:
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here