Thwaites to build new brewery
Lancashire brewer Daniel Thwaites has announced plans to sell its current site to Sainsbury’s and build a state-of-the art brewery at another location.
It said in a statement that its current site in Blackburn town centre “does not provide the flexibility or efficiency for the demands of today’s market and requires significant modernisation”.
It said a move would build “a platform for long-term growth and sustain employment”.
Thwaites – which employs 300 people – is in talks with Sainsbury’s, which has agreed to buy the existing site subject to planning consent being granted for a supermarket.
Proceeds from this sale will help to fund the construction of the new brewery.
“Given the requirement for planning consent, exact timescales are not certain,” said Thwaites. “However, it is anticipated that the move will take between three and four years.”
The brewer is in preliminary discussions with Blackburn with Darwen Council to help identify a suitable local site for the new brewery.
“This is a great opportunity for us to address the challenges that we face with our existing brewery and to reinvigorate our business by building a new modern and efficient brewery,” said the company’s chief executive Richard Bailey.
“While we have been in the centre of Blackburn for over 200 years, times have changed and these plans allow us to lay strong foundations for the future.”
