Carlsberg Britvic has proposed closing Marston’s Brewery in Burton upon Trent, together with the primary logistics operation on the same site, in summer 2027. The company said on 8 October 2026 that it had informed colleagues and trade union partners, and it describes the process as a proposed consultation.

In its statement, the company said the proposal was “driven both by structural category decline and a need to create greater long-term value”. It did not say how many jobs are affected. Food Manufacture reported that around 300 jobs could be at risk.

Certain priority ale brands, including Hobgoblin, McEwan’s and Brooklyn, will remain in the company’s portfolio, and Carlsberg Britvic said it is actively seeking new homes for other cask and regional ale brands. According to Food Manufacture, beers brewed at Burton include the Hobgoblin portfolio, Wainwright Golden Beer and Marston’s Pedigree, and the site also has a contract to brew Draught Bass on behalf of AB InBev.

Cask decline behind the decision

Paul Davies, chief executive of Carlsberg Britvic, linked the proposal to falling demand for cask ale. “While we remain proud of the role we have played in supporting and investing in the ale category overall, the stark reality is that UK cask ale volumes have more than halved in less than a decade, and this trend looks set to continue across the UK,” he said. The statement did not give the underlying volume figures.

It is my role to ensure Carlsberg Britvic’s multi-beverage portfolio is focused where consumers are today, and where customer demand is growing.

Paul Davies, CEO, Carlsberg Britvic

Davies said smaller ale brands “are much loved by select consumers” and that the company would do everything it can to help them thrive under more specialist or local ownership.

What happens before summer 2027

The company said Marston’s Brewery and the primary logistics operation are expected to continue to operate during the transition period. “As and when key decisions are taken over the coming months, we will share further information with the industry, but always with our colleagues first,” Davies said.

Not yet disclosed: where retained brands such as Hobgoblin will be brewed after the closure, whether the Draught Bass contract will move to another site, which brands are for sale and to whom, an official job count and plans for the Burton site itself.

Carlsberg acquired Marston’s PLC’s remaining 40% shareholding in Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company in July 2024, giving it full ownership of the brewing business. The company said the consultation is being undertaken by Carlsberg Britvic and does not involve Marston’s PLC. Carlsberg Britvic was formed in January 2025 following Carlsberg’s £3.3bn takeover of Britvic, Food Manufacture noted.

A run of brewery closures

Food Manufacture reported that the former Carlsberg Marston’s business announced plans two years ago to invest more than £6m in the Burton brewery, with ambitions to make it a national centre for craft beer and traditional ale brewing. The business has previously closed the Jennings brewery in Cumbria, Wychwood in Oxfordshire, Ringwood in Hampshire and Banks’s in Wolverhampton, the report said, and in January 2024 Carlsberg Marston’s said it would retire the four remaining sets of the historic Burton Union brewing system used for Marston’s Pedigree.

On 8 October 2025 Carlsberg Britvic announced a £20 million investment in a new canning line at its Rugby factory for soft drinks brands such as Tango and Pepsi MAX, with 34 new engineering and manufacturing jobs.

F&B Today’s reading

  • Analysis: The brand sale could put several established cask and regional ale brands, and the volume that goes with them, on the market at once. Regional brewers and contract brewers with spare capacity are the obvious bidders, but Carlsberg Britvic has named neither buyers nor a timetable.
  • Analysis: Pub operators and foodservice buyers that list Pedigree, Wainwright or other Marston’s brands should seek clear assurances on supply through summer 2027 and on what happens when a brand changes owner and brewery, since recipe, price and distribution can all change with a move.
  • Analysis: If the closure goes ahead, suppliers of malt, hops, casks and cask logistics would lose a large single site. Where the retained Hobgoblin volume and the Draught Bass contract end up will decide which suppliers keep that business.
  • Analysis: Set against the £20m Rugby canning line announced a year earlier, the Burton proposal suggests the group is directing capital towards packaged soft drinks and other formats rather than cask production.