Anspach & Hobday have launched a crowdfunding campaign on Crowdcube to expand its production capabilities.
Since the launch of its new Nitro Porter London Black in May 2021, the company has already landed 30 direct permanent lines and sold over 450 kegs.
That’s 13,500 litres totalling over 23,500 pints of independent, locally produced dark beer. They have joined in partnership with James Clay and New Wave Beers for distribution across Britain. Due to the success of London Black, they now believe this is the time to raise capital to meet demand.
The upgrades to their production hub in Croydon will include doubling batch volume, improving efficiency, as well as expanding production of London Black.
To meet growing demand London Black will also be available in small-pack, with upgrades being made to their canning line which will allow them to can Nitro Beers. For local pubs wishing to stock London Black, they will also provide nitro line installations as part of the offering.
London Black is a creamy, smooth and sessionable London Porter – poured from keg but smooth like cask. An easy drinking dark beer, with an incredibly tight creamy head that lasts all the way down the glass, London Black is the local independent alternative to mass produced macro-dark beer.
The raise follows on from their successful 2018 campaign where 524 backers invested £525,250 into the brewery. They delivered on our plans, expanded production to a new site in Croydon, transferred from bottled to canned beer, renovated our Bermondsey site and invested in a new lab-based role that oversees our quality control.
These investments have enabled us to grow 31% YoY (2020/2021) despite the pandemic, with the company even reaching the milestone of £1,000,000 in turnover in the 12 months to October.
Today marks the beginning of the public part of a raise where they invite in the wider investment community to hear about their plans and the opportunity to invest.
“We are thrilled to begin the round with momentum having already secured over £390,000 of investment from our existing crowd. We now have the opportunity to maximise this raise and see London Black and our brewery reach their true potential,” they said.
The company added: “Alongside equity, investors will also receive a variety of rewards depending on their contribution. Highlights include a 10% lifetime discount, your own A&H dispense hire, and an exclusive meal at London’s English Restaurant featuring London Black.”
Chairman and Co-Founder Jack Hobday said: “It was a triumph for our brewery to continue to grow throughout the pandemic. We are proud of our team and the success of the beers we brew but it would have been all harder without the fantastic support of our crowdfunder base built in 2018.
“We are raising now to underpin that growth and capitalise on the opportunity that London Black offers. It is really exciting to be able to welcome more to join our company in this next step of our journey.”
