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New owners pledge six-figure investment into York brewery
Husband and wife Stuart and Lyndsay Weston have acquired the business from founder Andy Herrington, who will leave the business on 7 June to pursue a career in marketing with private security firm Eboracum.
They are joined by local business owners Nick Ivel, John Greenwood, Sean Wilkinson, Ian Walker and Dave Smith as shareholders. The consortium said they aimed to grow the Ainsty Ales brand and continue its taproom events in Acaster Malbis.
‘Time to move on’
Reflecting on his departure from the business, Herrington said in a post on LinkedIn.com: “As the founder of Ainsty Ales Brewery & Taproom, I’ve lived and breathed the business for the past 11 years, but it’s now time to move on and leave the business to four new, York-based shareholders and a fantastic couple who’ve I’ve personally known for the past 10 years to look after its day to day running.
Founded by Herrington in 2014, Ainsty Ales operates a 10-barrel brewhouse with a 12-barrel mash tun, hot and cold liquor tanks and a copper kettle. It also houses three fermenters and conditioning tanks with the capability of producing 5000 litres of beer every week and enough room to double capacity.
Yorkshire entrepreneur Nick Ivel said: “We’re grateful for everything Andy Herrington has done to grow the brand and for the local community and I’m happy he’s moving forward to pastures new to share his talent for marketing. I’ve lived in the village for over 20 years and this is an important local brand that we all want to see thrive.”
Equipment investment
“We’ve already invested in a fourth brewing vessel to increase brewing capacity and to ensure we can keep up with increasing demand.”
Co-investor Sean Wilkinson described the investment as a lifelong ambition of his.
“Taking on this award-winning brand with a growing national presence is so exciting and as a team we’re committed to its future success,” he added.
“Craft beer is a £1.7bn industry in the UK and we plan on growing Ainsty Ales to offer beer enthusiasts everywhere more bold beers.”
Meanwhile, Guinness owner Diageo has announced plans to invest more than €100m to decarbonise its St James’s Gate site in Dublin.
