Helping Rooster’s Brewing Company to grow

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18/06/2019

At Yorkshire Bank, we’ve been working with the North’s businesses for more than a century. Working with SMEs of all sizes, across a range of sectors, our team are experts in their fields and have the knowledge and understanding to support their growth aspirations.

Rooster’s Brewing Company is one such business - ‘hatched’ in 1993, it’s now one of Yorkshire’s best-known beer makers, with exciting ambitions to expand, made possible with a little help from Yorkshire Bank.

The company’s roots lie in a humble starter unit in Harrogate, set up by craft beer pioneer, Sean Franklin over 25 years ago. In 2011, the owner retired, selling the business to the Fozard family, with Director Ian Fozard joining forces with his sons Tom and Oliver (pictured top right), just as the craft-beer craze began to sweep the nation.

The boom has not stopped, as data* from the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) this year showed the UK beer market grew 2.6% in 2018, the biggest increase for 45 years, driven in part by craft popularity. Rooster’s are one of the key providers to this flourishing market, bringing a slew of innovative drinks from cask, keg and can to glass for UK beer-enthusiasts.

The company now sells its ‘hop-forward’ beers (using over 40 varieties of hops from across the globe) to a growing list of pubs and bars, as well as a canned version for supermarkets, as one of the first UK breweries to invest in a micro-canning machine.

Rooster’s now stands at the edge of a transformative new chapter. Using an Asset Finance package from Yorkshire Bank, the business is upscaling its operations, hopping from its old site in Knaresborough, to a state-of-the-art brewing facility in its birthplace, in Harrogate. The brewery is scheduled to be completed in July, while the business has already opened a new taproom on-site, to showcase their forward-thinking beers.

Ian said: “The move to Harrogate is so important. In today’s fast moving world, you can’t afford to stand still and be complacent. The UK beer scene has changed rapidly in recent years with the US-inspired ‘craft beer revolution’, with new styles sweeping across Europe and the number of breweries selling into the UK market increasing.

“We’re well placed as an established brewer to service the market, but our old premises were hampering our ability to cope with the sheer demand from consumers. Now we’ll be able to meet this, as the new facility will double our production capacity, while we’ll also add four to five new jobs across the business as we expand.”

Speaking of the partnership with Yorkshire Bank, Ian said: “I have a long working relationship with the Bank and they’ve been there to support our aspirations since we first took ownership, tailoring solutions to fit our needs.”

Our Group’s Business Banking Director, Gavin Opperman, said: “Rooster’s has fast become a household name and we’re proud to play a role in the team’s plan for growth.

“We know how important local businesses are for Yorkshire’s economy and the North as a whole, so it’s important that we assist our customers through times of great change for their enterprises.

“Our recent win of Commercial Bank of the Year at the Yorkshire Financial Awards 2019, is a testament to the work ethic of our specialist business banking teams, who are helping to guide businesses through everything from property purchases and acquisitions to succession planning and much more.”

Find out what we can do for your business

Whether you’re starting up a business, scaling up, or anything in between, Yorkshire Bank is here to help.

We offer a range of products and services including asset finance and specialised relationship managers, to make sure you get the support you need.

Find out more:https://secure.ybonline.co.uk/business

*The SIBA British Craft Beer Report 2019
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