Amity Brew Co
Business Loans Case Study
Amity Brew Co was founded by experienced beer experts Rich Degnan and Russell Clarke during the 2020 Covid lockdown. The craft brewery operates a taproom at Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley, Leeds and a new brewery operation at Albion Mills, Greengates, Bradford.
The company
Amity Brew Co makes fresh, modern interpretations of classic beer styles, as well as experimenting with the new. The company stands for ‘community, friendship and good beer’.
The challenge
The Amity Brew Co team is keen to increase the company’s beer sales across the UK as well as supply new markets in Europe, Asia and Scandinavia. The independent brewery also wants to refurbish its Farsley taproom to accommodate more customers and introduce an all-day food offering.
The company has recently achieved the Salsa food safety accreditation, opening opportunities to sell its beers to larger pub group brands and increase its B2B sales.
Finance Yorkshire involvement
A £300,000 investment from Finance Yorkshire’s loan fund is supporting Amity Brew Co’s fit out of the new brewing operation at Albion Mills as well as the refurbishment at Farsley.
The investment is supporting the continued growth of the business which employs a dozen people.
Rich said: “We are ambitious to expand our offer to customers across West Yorkshire as well as further afield. With the support of Finance Yorkshire, our new brewery operation will enable us to stay true to our vision of community, friendship and good beer while extending our reach to a much wider customer base.”
Co-director Verity Clarke added: "Finance Yorkshire's investment has enabled us to expand into the space at Farsley which used to be our brewery and double our covers to 80 and increase capacity.
"The Salsa accreditation has been a highlight this year because of the opportunities it gives us to get in front of larger pub and restaurant groups."
The investment rationale
Alex McWhirter, CEO of Finance Yorkshire, said: “In a short space of time, the Amity Brew Co team have established a solid and exciting brand which is broadening its appeal to a larger home and a new and developing overseas market.
"Amity Brew Co’s ambition and drive to innovate has seen the business negotiate the challenges of operating a small business in the competitive craft brewing sector.
“Finance Yorkshire supports the Amity team’s enthusiastic growth ambitions particularly as a customer-focussed and community-orientated business.”
Future expectations
Amity Brew Co has added an extra tank at its brewery which now has a taproom licence.
Events trialled this year have proved the potential of the brewery site and led the company to investigate opening a second pub in addition to its Farsley taproom.