Keystone, which signed a deal with Hofmeister in March this year to take care of its sales and distribution, also owns drinks brands within the beer category including North Brewing Co, Black Sheep Brewery, Purity, Brick, Brew By Numbers, Big Drop, Maison Sassy, Magic Rock, Fourpure and Wolf Pack.
Hofmeister CEO Spencer Chambers moved to assure customers there would be “zero disruption” to supplies of its products.
He said: “We are aware of the developments regarding our logistics partner, Keystone Brewing Group. While the timing is unfortunate for the wider industry, Hofmeister has been monitoring the situation closely and has proactively activated contingency plans to ensure zero disruption to our customers during the critical Christmas trading period.
Supply continuity
“We want to reassure all our trade partners that Hofmeister has significant finished stock available and ready for deployment. This stock is held securely at our production site, fully ring-fenced and unaffected by the restructuring process. We are working closely with our network to ensure stock continues to flow to pubs and bars without interruption throughout December.”
He added it was important to clarify Hofmeister remains in a robust financial position and recently completed a successful fundraising round, valuing the business at £17.5m, and is currently tracking at over 30% year-on-year growth despite the challenging market conditions.
Chambers added: “While we have a manageable creditor position with Keystone, our balance sheet is strong and our growth trajectory remains unaffected.
Active dialogue
“We view this market disruption as a catalyst for potential opportunity. We are in active dialogue with all relevant parties and are carefully considering strategic options to further strengthen our route-to-market and market position arising from this process.”
Reports on Sky News claimed Keystone had filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators to give the company time to orchestrate a restructuring or sale. Keystone employs about 190 people at breweries across the country.
The Morning Advertiser contacted Keystone Brewing Group on Friday afternoon but did not receive any comment at the time.
