Drinks industry issues

Brewing and distilling are important manufacturing industries for the UK economy and the sector has seen rapid growth in recent years, with the UK malt manufacturing industry becoming one of the largest in the world.

Thanks to a growing demand for ales and craft beers, tax breaks for smaller breweries as a result of the Government’s Small Breweries Relief Scheme and a cut in duty, the industry has also seen a phenomenal rise in small regional and local brewers and microbreweries, with the number of breweries in the UK hitting an 80 year high in 2015.

This rapid growth and increasing competition means it is important that brewing and distilling businesses receive specialist, experienced advice from advisers with a strong working knowledge of the market and the key issues affecting businesses operating within it.

Our latest research and national coverage

Industry specific research collated by our national drinks team regularly appears in national broadsheets.

Click on the links below to view our industry findings:

 

Date

Press coverage

Our research

04/05/2020

Daily Express, Daily Star, ITV, The i, The Scotsman, Aberdeen Evening Express.

Stall in number of UK breweries as craft beer boom slows down

16/03/2020

Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, City AM, The i, Insider and Northern Echo

Growth in the number of UK distillers shows no signs of stopping – up by another fifth last year

11/11/2019

City AM, BBC News, The i

Pub and bar company insolvencies jump 13% to 530 in the last year

24/06/2019

The Times, Express, Yorkshire Post, City AM

21% increase in number of UK distillery businesses last year

23/04/2019

The Gaurdian, The I, Yahoo Finance

UK craft beer boom sobars up - adds just eight breweries versus 390 the previous year

15/04/2019

Financial Times

HMRC receipts from 'sin taxes' on alcohol, cigarettes and gambling lag far behind total tax receipts

01/04/2019

City AM , Daily Mail, The Sun, Metro, The I, Daily Telegraph

Sparkling wine sales fall by three million bottles – confirming that the UK has passed ‘peak prosecco’

28/01/2019

City AM,Metro, Mail Online

430 new craft breweries opened in just the last year across the UK

06/07/2018

Decanter, London Loves Business, Scottish Field, The Spirits Business

Another 39 new distilleries launched in the UK in a year as ‘Ginaissance’ continues

18/06/2018

Daily Mail

Record high number of new UK based wine producers opening – up 25% in just a year

29/05/2018

BBC News, Daily Telegraph, Metro, Sky News, Daily Express, The Mirror, The I

Increase in UK’s sparkling wine market reaches new high – but does slowdown in growth mean we are reaching ‘peak Prosecco’?

18/12/2017

Metro , Guardian , The Times

Consumption of sparkling wine in UK increases for sixth year in a row

27/10/2017

The Telegraph, The I, Metro,, Daily Express, Bloomberg, The Independent

Number of UK wine producers leaps 13% in a year to record high 397

23/10/2017

BBC News, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, The Times, Metro, The Indepdendent, City AM, Just Drinks, The I, Belfast Telegraph, The Times, City AM, Sunday Times, The Telegraph

Number of breweries in the UK breaks through the 2,000 barrier for the first time since the 1930s

25/09/2017

The Telegraph, Daily Express, The I, Metro, Daily Mail, Sky News

Number of new distilleries in the UK jumps by 19% in a year

29/05/2017

The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, The, Daily Express, The Belfast Telegraph, Manchester Evening News, Aberdeen Journal, The Weather Channel, Oxford Mail

English Wine industry continues to boom - 64 new producers open in a year

17/04/2017

The Financial Times, The Times, The Guardian, The I, The Daily Express, The BBC, The Daily Mirror, The Belfast Telegraph, The Scotsman and The Irish Times.

53 new distilleries launched in the UK in just one year

13/03/2017

The Daily Telegraph, Metro, The Daily Express, The I, City AM, The Daily Star and The Times.

Record high for new craft breweries as over 500 open in a year


The next step

If you would like to discuss any industry issues in more detail, please contact one of our experts, or complete the contact form.

Let's talk! Send an enquiry to your local UHY expert.