The brewer has entered into consultation with members of staff at the site as it explored market interest for the brewery.
Paul Davies, CMBC chief executive, said the search for a buyer would take some months, so the decision had been made to close the taproom and stop brewing in site immediately.
Continue to brew
“Our brewing partner Cameron’s will continue to brew LFB in the usual manner to meet existing on trade customer supply until we finalise a sale,” Davies added.
“This decision in no way reflects upon the hard work and dedication that has been put into building LFB since we purchased the brewery in 2017. But after several months of careful review, it is clear that growing LFB will require significant time, resource, and marketing investment.”
The planned closure comes four years after CMBC bought London Fields as a joint venture with New York-based Brooklyn Brewery. Investment was made to re-introduce brewing at its original home under the railway arches in Hackney, London and to upgrade its tap-room and events space.
Strengthening core brands
“We understand this news will be devastating to the team and disappointing to many others,” Davies continued. “But we cannot shy away from making the difficult choices that we believe are crucial to investing in scaling the right brands for the future and making CMBC a stronger industry leading business.
“This does not mean that LFB cannot have a bright future as a craft brewer outside of CMBC given the brand’s London provenance and well invested brewery will be attractive to other industry players.”
Meanwhile, AG Barr, the soft drinks company, is to take over the MOMA porridge and plant-based milk business in three years after agreeing an initial 60% equity stake.
The acquisition will take the producer of drinks brands including IRN-BRU, Rubicon and Funkin into the oat-based and plant milk sectors by purchasing the Moma brand, which was founded by Tom Mercer in 2006.