Craft Beer Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Beer52 Limited, has entered into an agreement to acquire certain trade and assets of distributor EeBria Limited.
The deal secures the future of an important route to market for independent brewers across the UK and Europe. It follows the announcement on midnight of 19th March 2024 that EeBria had been placed into administration.
Beer52’s acquisition, the terms of which have not been disclosed, allows EeBria to move forward well-capitalised, with a strong balance sheet and a clear focus to get more craft beer into more pubs, bars, shops and restaurants.
Fraser Doherty, CEO of Beer52, said: “We are acutely aware of how difficult the current trading environment is for breweries, brands, producers, and customers. Now more than ever, the industry we love needs EeBria’s revolutionary platform to thrive, connecting suppliers and customers and getting more people drinking great beer.”
Launched in 2013, EeBria disrupted the UK’s beer distribution industry with an online marketplace that uses advanced technology to match brewers and customers directly. In the intervening decade, the platform’s growing reach has seen it become one of the industry’s most important routes to market, facilitating around £7m of trade each year.
As part of Beer52, the EeBria platform will continue to trade as normal, while benefitting from the new owner’s capabilities in operations, sales and marketing to grow its customer base and, ultimately, order volume.
Doherty continued: “Our immediate priority is to ensure orders continue to be successfully fulfilled for customers, but we will also be reaching out to customers and suppliers, to learn what improvements they would like to see as we develop the platform into the future.”
Ben Cleary of Full Circle Brewing said of the news: “EeBria has been an incredibly important route to market for us since our inception four years ago and in my opinion, it’s very positive that it’s been acquired by Beer52 who are leaders in the craft beer subscription space, with vast knowledge and expertise on trends and logistics. We always want to ensure that our customers can order the way they want to, and I feel very confident that with Beer52 at the helm, this will allow for EeBria to flourish.”
Darron Anley, Founder of Siren Craft Brew, added: “This news just shows how tough this sector is right now. EeBria have been a great partner for many years and it’s very sad to see another big name in the industry hit the wall like this. Rising costs, inflation and the pressure on all our wallets has been truly relentless.
“However we are delighted to see our friends at Beer52 stepping in to save this important route to market. We have worked with Beer52 for many years and we are confident that EeBria customers and suppliers will continue to receive great service alongside a new innovative vision for the business which we are sure Beer52 will bring to the table.”
