Asahi Group Holdings is shutting its Meantime brewery in London as the Japanese giant looks to consolidate its production in the UK.
The brewing of the Meantime and Dark Star brands is being moved from the facility in Greenwich in south-east London to the company’s Fuller’s site in the west of the capital in Chiswick.
Asahi, which acquired Meantime in 2016, has indicated it plans to create a “standalone” consumer retail experience in Greenwich. The move would include a “continuation” of brewing, the group said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Asahi said the decision would help the company use the “extensive in-house brewing expertise and capabilities” at Chiswick and create “more efficient, sustainable operations, with a solid foundation for future innovation and investment”.
The Peroni brand owner would not disclose how many staff would be affected by the closure.
In November 2022, Asahi said it would close the Dark Star Brewery in West Sussex, a move that led to the Meantime site taking on the production of the Dark Star range. The Dark Star facillity was operating “significantly” below capacity, the company said at the time.
In the last 18 months, Carlsberg has restructured its operations in the UK, moves that have led to the closure and sale of breweries.
In December, the brewer’s UK venture said it had been unable to find a buyer for Ringwood Brewery, six months after putting the site in southern England up for sale.
Three months later, the venture, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC), said it would close its Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire, pointing to a competitive ale market and a “turbulent economic outlook” in the UK.
In May, CMBC sold its already closed London Fields Brewery and taproom to London pub operator Grace Land Group.
In 2022, the venture sold Eagle Brewery to S.A. Damm, a deal that gave the Spanish group its first brewery in the UK.
CMBC also announced the winding down and closure of Jennings Brewery in September 2022. The Lake District facility in north-west England had been operating at below capacity and the group said it had seen a “significant decline in volumes” in recent years.
In January, Asahi snapped up US contract beer maker Octopi Brewing. The acquisition was made to allow the company to start brewing its Asahi Super Dry brand in the US.
In October, the group set out plans to invest Ft100bn ($280m) in its Hungarian subsidiary Dreher Breweries to expand capacity over the next ten years.
