S&N to consult over Reading closure

February 12, 2008: Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) — newly acquired by a consortium of Carlsberg and Heineken — has confirmed its intention to close its Berkshire Brewery site in Reading by early 2010.

The firm said it would immediately start consultation with affected employees on the impact of the closure. The consultation process would include full support for all employees affected.

This move follows the announcement in November of the closure of bottling facilities at the site, and the transfer of 3 million hectolitres of production to Coors Brewers Ltd, under a contract brewing agreement.

S&N says it has carried out a detailed review of the site and concluded that closure is currently the most viable option. These plans were shared with the Heineken & Carlsberg consortium as part of the due diligence.

The intention would be to transfer residual brewing and packaging work progressively to other S&N sites, including Tadcaster, in Yorkshire, the Royal Brewery, in Manchester, and Dunston, Gateshead. If fully implemented, the net effect of these changes would be a saving of £13m per annum from S&N’s cost base.

S&N said every effort would be made to find alternative employment for those affected, including outplacement support, re-training and/or redeployment where a suitable alternative post exists. S&N would work closely with local agencies to ensure that the impact on the local economy and community is minimised.

Stephen Glancey, S&N group operations director, said: “It is well documented that there is general over-capacity in the UK brewing sector, and these proposals have been put in place to address this issue.

"The nature of the Reading site, the amount of investment required to make it competitive and its relative cost compared to other UK facilities means that there is a strong business case for closure.

"We will, of course, do all we can to mitigate the effects of the closure on the people affected.”