Unity Brewing Co enters liquidation after battling rising costs

Southampton-based Unity Brewing Co is the latest small brewery to announce its closure due to tough economic conditions.

The company, which was founded in 2016, said it had become "impossible" to continue trading.

A post across Unity Brewing's social media pages said: "This is the post I hoped I would never have to make. As of today, we will close our shutters for the final time and enter liquidation.

"Since the first lockdown almost three years ago, trading has been a daily battle and despite weathering many storms, the last few months of rising costs, debt and difficult sales have made it impossible for us to continue.

"I can't thank everyone enough for all the support we've had in the six and a half years of Unity beer. Connecting people, putting smiles on faces and promoting togetherness through delicious beer has always been at the very centre of what we have done and we wouldn't have been able to do any of it without you so…here's to you and here's to togetherness."

The Unity Bottle Shop in Southampton will continue to trade under a new brand.

Unity Brewing is the latest in a series of small breweries that have closed due to rising costs.

Manchester Brewing Co shut its doors in January due to "financial pressures" while Somerset-based Wild Beer Co entered administration in December after 10 years of trading.

Several smaller sites owned by larger brewing giants also stopped production last year. Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company shut down Cumbria's historic Jennings Brewery, which dated back to 1828, while Heineken said it would close the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh after 153 years after a decline in production.

Andy Slee, chief executive of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), called on the government to offer more support to prevent more small breweries from closing, including clarity on how to apply for the Energy Bill Discount Scheme from April 2023.

"The brewing industry is the most taxed in the UK and is facing steeply rising costs, and a fall in consumer spending due to the cost of living crisis. For many breweries the battle to stay afloat is proving a real challenge," said Slee.

Image: Facebook / Unity Brewing Co