Whitbread - The demise of a brewing behemoth

by Anthony Springall

Business flourished (especially after the introduction of laws to prevent the spread of gin production) and in 1770 he was able to buy out his partners for £30,000 (now £7m). By now a wealthy individual he became an MP as well as High Sheriff of Hertfordshire and on his death in 1796 the brewery was the largest brewer in the world and he left an estate of more than the equivalent of £100m..

Samuel Whitbread was born in 1720 in the small Bedfordshire village of Cardington and when he was 16 his parents paid £300 (today around £47,500) to have him apprenticed to John Whiteman, master brewer in order to learn the trade.

He quickly picked up on the knowledge required so that by 1742 he was in a position to go into partnership with George and Thomas Shewell and it was his business acumen that saw him move production in 1750 to a site on Chiswell Street in order to produce the very fashionable drink of Porter. He was a fast adopter of modern technology and installed a steam engine in the brewery which helped increase production volumes.

The brewery struggled under his son and in 1812 merged with the Lambeth brewery of Martineau & Bland who provided management expertise although one of the partners John Martineau suffered an accident at the brewery and drowned in a yeast vat !.

Business again flourished throughout the 19th Century and in 1870 it introduced the novel concept of bottled beer and expanded production In 1889 the company went public and by 1905 it had increased production to almost 700,000 barrels.

Business suffered under both World Wars, not least by the damage and destruction to over 500 pubs during WW2 but in a post war world the brewery went on a huge acquisition drive called the “Whitbread Umbrella”. It was designed to give smaller brewers comfort by Whitbread taking a stake in the business to prevent a hostile takeover but in reality it gave them a seat on the board and a toe in to leverage a buy out. Famous breweries that were acquired included:-

• Flowers (Stratford and Luton) 1961

• Tennant Brothers (Sheffield) 1961

• Norman & Pring (Exeter) 1962

• Starkey, Knight & Ford (Bridgwater) 1962

• West Country Breweries (Cheltenham) 1963

• J Nimmo & Son (Castle Eden) 1963

• Strong & Co (Romsey) 1968 who themselves had bought out Wethereds of Marlow in 1949 and Mew, Langton & Co of Isle of Wight in 1965

• Fremlins (Maidstone) 1967

• Brickwoods (Portsmouth) 1971

• Boddingtons (Manchester) 1989

In the post war period Whitbread took over 30+ breweries, acquiring their pubs and inevitably closing down the brewing operation. Between 1961 and 1971, Whitbread's output increased from 46 to 160 million imperial gallons (2.1 to 7.4 million hectolitres) and it became Britain's third-largest brewer by output. Business flourished and it diversified into such companies as Beefeater Steakhouses, Pizza Hut, TGI Fridays, Cafe Rouge, Bella Pasta & Pizzaland. In the early 1990's the company was forced to sell 2,500+ pubs to comply with 1992 Supply of Beer (Tied Estates) orders but in 2001 the company decided to sell all its breweries and brewing operations to Interbrew (now ABInbev) and the year after it sold its pub estate to Enterprise Inns to focus on other business areas.

Jean and Phil Lacey welcome you to their cosy English pub and restaurant in the heart of Winkfield.

Large welcoming bar and separate restaurant area.

Excellent Lunch and Evening menu, £9 for Fish and Chips on Fridays.

Beautiful outdoor eating area and garden.

Read a free newspaper over a coffee, or gather round a table and play one of the many games available.

Real log fire when it is cold outside.

Children very welcome with a special menu available for them.

Just 4 miles from Windsor Castle and 3 miles from Ascot Racecourse. The White Hart, Church Road, Winkfield, Near Ascot & Windsor, SL4 4SE Call - 01344 882415 Email - thewhitehartwinkfield@outlook.com