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Tue 27th Feb 2024 - Breal rebrands as Keystone Brewing Group, plans to play pivotal role in brewing industry |
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Breal rebrands as Keystone Brewing Group, plans to play pivotal role in brewing industry: London-based investment firm Breal Group is set to rebrand as Keystone Brewing Group, a move it said is designed to reflect the company's “commitment to innovation and growth in the industry”. Through the rebrand, the London-based company, which owns a diverse portfolio of breweries across the country including Yorkshire-based Black Sheep, and the Purity Brewing Co, said it aims to underline its “strength, stability and progress”. Mark Williams, chief executive at Keystone Brewing Group, said: “As Keystone Brewing Group, we are proud to build upon the legacy of Breal Group while embarking on an exciting new chapter of growth and innovation. Our rebranding represents our unwavering commitment to excellence, creativity and progress in the brewing industry.” The company said that with the name change it also aims to “articulate its hope for the future of the brewing industry and commitment to supporting and nurturing both established and emerging brands within its portfolio”. Williams said: “The ‘keystone’ is a central architectural element that locks an arch into place, which we see as representing the pivotal role that the company plays in the brewing industry. Just as a keystone supports and sustains an arch, Keystone Brewing Group is dedicated to supporting and nurturing both established and emerging brands within its portfolio. We remain steadfast in our dedication to delivering exceptional quality, variety, and innovation to consumers both in the UK and worldwide. The group is poised to continue our legacy of excellence and shape the future of the brewing industry.” In addition to its recent acquisition of Black Sheep Brewery and Purity Brewing Co, the group has also acquired Brick Brewery and Brew by Numbers in London over the past 18 months, and invested £1m into the transformation of the Black Sheep Brewery site in Masham. Breal also backs Vinoteca and D&D London.
Variety of cafe/bakery brands to feature in next New Openings Database released on Friday: Premium Club members will receive the next The New Openings Database on Friday (1 March), at midday. The database features cafe and bakery concepts such as Dishoom’s Permit Room, which is looking at expansion with sites in Cambridge and Oxford under consideration. Meanwhile, EL&Nis increasing its presence in the capital, with an opening in Westfield London, while Love Churros has opened its first site outside the capital, in Watford, for its seventh location overall. The database will show the details of 64 site openings, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. It will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis and Premium Club members will also receive a 2,800-word report on the new additions to the database. Premium Club members also receive access to five other databases: the Multi-Site Database, produced in association with Virgate; the Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. All subscribers will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to five Propel paid-for events – The Excellence in Pub Retailing Conference (14 May), Social Media for Profit (18 July), the Talent and Training Conference (1 October) and Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025). Operators will also be able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.
Grocery food prices drop for first time since September: Grocery food prices have fallen this month for the first time since September, providing a further signal that inflationary pressures in the economy will continue to ease this year. The Times reported food prices fell by 0.1% over the month to February, according to the British Retail Consortium and NielsenIQ’s latest shop prices inflation index. On an annual basis, food inflation fell to 5% from 6.1% in January, the lowest point since May 2022. The monthly drop in grocery prices helped to bring down annual overall shop prices inflation to 2.5% from 2.9%, its weakest pace of increase in nearly two years. Grocery prices inflation peaked at 15.7% in April last year, according to the consortium and NielsenIQ. Experts attributed the falling cost of grocery bills to fierce competition between retailers, prompting them to lower their prices in order to attract customers. Production costs also have receded after rising sharply because of a steep increase in energy costs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There is an expectation in financial markets that a sustained fall in consumer prices inflation from a peak of 11.1% to 4% will allow the Bank of England to lower interest rates in May or June for the first time since March 2020. The base rate stands at 5.25%, a 16-year high. A loosening of monetary policy would further ease the strain on household finances and boost economic growth. The economy slipped into recession in the second half of last year after contracting by 0.3% in the three months to December.
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