Molson Coors Beverage Company is set to invest more than £100 million ($126 million) in its U.K. business infrastructure over the next five years, the company announced this week.
The investment allows the company to grow its brewing and packaging capacity at a time when the continued strong performance of its brands requires enhanced capabilities, said Fraser Thomson, Molson Coors’ chief supply chain officer for Western Europe.
“This plan is an investment in our future, giving our people and our brands the tools to fulfil our potential in the U.K. market while making strong progress against our sustainability targets,” he said.
THE BIG PICTURE
Molson Coors’ premium and world lager brands, Madrí Excepcional, in particular, have seen strong growth, while Carling, the U.K.’s biggest beer brand, continues to operate at the center of the brewery’s portfolio.
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Madrí Excepcional was the country’s fastest-growing major beer brand in both volume and value sales in the fourth quarter of 2023 versus 2022, and is the second-largest above premium lager in the on-premise.
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The smash hit recently launched in Canada and Bulgaria.
ZOOM IN
The £100 million plan includes investments to improve brewing capacity and packaging capabilities at Molson Coors’ largest U.K. facilities, in Burton-on-Trent and Tadcaster. At the Burton brewery, the company will install a new 24-tonne high-speed can filler that will fill 120,000 cans per hour; it will upgrade the packaging keg line at both Tadcaster and Aspall Cyder House.
The Burton and Tadcaster breweries produce beer for Molson Coors’ U.K. and Western Europe markets.
Additionally, Molson Coors is investing in its Sharps’ Brewery in Rock, Cornwall, to support new and existing ale brands like Doom Bar, Solar Wave Hazy and Twin Coast.
- It’s the latest in a series of multi-million-pound investments in Molson Coors’ U.K. operations. The company has invested £44 million in its facilities in recent years, including increasing capacity at Aspall Cyder House, installing a new canning line in Burton and ongoing improvements in Tadcaster.
While the investment and infrastructure upgrades are expected to improve capabilities and make Molson Coors’ U.K. network more efficient, it will also play an important role in supporting the company’s commitment to reduce its direct carbon emissions to net zero in the U.K. by 2035.
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Molson Coors’ U.K. operations have been powered by renewable electricity since 2021. It was the first major brewer in the U.K. to transition to renewable electricity.
THE BOTTOM LINE
“This is a landmark moment in our history as we evolve to meet the demands of our growing portfolio and bring new innovations in the years ahead, while continuing to reduce the impact our business has on the environment,” Thomson said.