The £4.5 million deal will see the Irish drinks multinational acquire the rights to the Innis & Gunn name and intellectual property.
The rescue package will not, however, save a large part of the brewer’s workforce, with 105 staff employed at Innis & Gunn brand pubs across Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee, as well as at its brewery in Perth to be made redundant.
Founded in the Scottish capital in 2003 by Dougal Gunn Sharp, Innis & Gunn’s rise and fall has closely matched the fate of fellow craft brewer BrewDog, albeit on a much smaller scale.
The administrators, FTI Consulting, said the company had succumb to pressures relating to rising costs and dwindling demand.
“I’m deeply sorry to everyone affected – particularly my colleagues who have lost their jobs and the shareholders who believed in what we were building. It’s been a bruising process for everyone,” founder, Sharp, said.
“While this outcome is not what any of us hoped for, I’m glad the brand has found a home with C&C Group. We’ve worked closely with the team for many years and they have the scale, distribution and experience to take Innis & Gunn forward.”
He said in spite of the news, he remains “incredibly proud of the brand, the beer and the community that grew around it”, adding: “I truly hope the next chapter allows Innis & Gunn to fulfil the potential we always believed it had.”
C&C Group has held an 8% stake in Innis & Gunn since 2021, and the craft firm had previously based some of its operations at Tennent’s Wellpark Brewery as part of a contract-brewing deal.
“We have worked with Innis & Gunn for many years and whilst it’s under difficult circumstances, we are delighted to bring the brand fully into our portfolio,” added C&C Group CEO Roger White.
“This is a compelling and highly synergistic opportunity to save a well-loved brand for which we currently brew most of the product. Our existing brewing and route-to-market platform allows us to integrate the brand effectively and quickly, supporting the ongoing supply of products to customers and consumers. We expect this acquisition to make a small positive contribution to our overall financial performance in FY27.”
Facing similar financial issues, BrewDog was bought out by US company Tilray last week to the tune of £33 million.
The New York outfit agreed to take on 11 of BrewDog’s pubs, which meant the closure of 38 its existing venues and the loss of 484 jobs.
