Scottish & Newcastle plc was a

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

company headquartered in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, which expanded from its home base to become an international business with

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

volumes growing almost tenfold. The company was listed on the

London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...

until it was acquired by

Heineken Heineken Lager Beer (), or simply Heineken (), is a Dutch pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star. History On 15 February 1864, ...

and

Carlsberg Carlsberg may refer to: Places * Carlsberg (district), a district in Copenhagen, Denmark ** Carlsberg station, its train station * Carlsberg, Germany, a municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany * Carlsberg Fjord, Greenland Other uses * Carlsbe ...

in 2008 and its assets split between them. The name Scottish & Newcastle continued to be used for the UK trading operation of Heineken International until 2009, when it was renamed Heineken UK. The former S&N Pub Enterprises leased pub division was rebranded as S&N Pub Company after the takeover. In 2012, it was rebranded again to Star Pubs & Bars, bringing an end to Scottish & Newcastle brand.

History

The origins of the company can be traced to Grizel Syme who ran her late second husband's brewery: this brewery and those of her sons developed into the firm of William Younger & Co. It merged with

McEwan's McEwan's is a brand of beer owned by Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company. It was originally brewed by William McEwan's Fountain Brewery in Edinburgh, Scotland. The McEwan's brand passed to Heineken in 2008 after their purchase of Scottish & New ...

in 1931 becoming Scottish Brewers. In 1960 it merged again this time with Newcastle Breweries to form Scottish & Newcastle. By 1985, the company had become a regional brewer focused on Scotland and the

North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...

. By 1995, with the purchase of rival brewing business

Courage Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

, S&N had become the UK's leading brewer. In early 2000, S&N expanded outside the UK via a number of acquisitions in Western Europe, growing sales to over 50 Mhl per annum. Acquisitions included

Kronenbourg Kronenbourg Brewery (, German: ''Kronenbourg Brauerei'', ) is a brewery founded in 1664 by Geronimus Hatt in the Free Imperial City of Straßburg, Holy Roman Empire (today Strasbourg, France). The name comes from the area where the brewery reloc ...

. By acquiring

Hartwall Hartwall Ltd is a beverage company based in Helsinki, Finland. It was founded in 1836. Its drinks range includes Jaffa (soft drink)#Hartwall Jaffa, Jaffa, Pommac and Novelle waters. The company also owns the licence for manufacturing and sellin ...

in 2002, Finland's leading beverage company business, S&N became 50% owners of

Baltic Beverages Holding Baltic Beverages Holding is a brewing company owned by Carlsberg Group. It is a significant operator in the brewing industry in the Baltic states and Ukraine. History The company was founded in 1991 by the Finnish brewery Hartwall and the Sw ...

(BBH) encompassing brewing interests in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Baltic Countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The remaining 50% of BBH was owned by

, which gained full control after the takeover of S&N in 2008. In July 2003, S&N acquired the

Bulmers Bulmers cider is one of a number of brands owned by British cider maker H. P. Bulmer of Hereford, a Heineken subsidiary. It is one of the biggest selling British bottled cider brands in the UK with a number of variants including Bulmers Origin ...

cider business, adding the Strongbow,

Scrumpy Jack Scrumpy Jack is a brand of dry cider, 6% alcohol by volume (ABV), produced in England. Previously it was of a stronger ABV of 7.5%, but this was changed some years ago due to taxes and licensing. It is currently produced in Hereford by H. P. Bulmer ...

and

Woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family (biology), family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar and the extreme ...

brands to its portfolio, together with the UK's biggest cider mill and orchards in Hereford. In November 2003, S&N sold its remaining pub estate to the Spirit Group – retaining a successful tenanted pub management business (S&N Pub Company) with contracts to look after some 2,000 pubs on behalf of banks and other pub companies. In 2004 some radical cost-cutting measures were introduced, particularly within the UK where it was noted by analysts that the cost base was too high. During the year, the Fountain Brewery in Edinburgh was closed, followed some months later by the Tyne Brewery in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

. This was followed in 2005 by the closure of distribution depots at Bow, Chelmsford and Maidstone with the task being integrated into Dagenham Regional Distribution Centre and depots at Hackbridge and Croydon with the remainder of the London accounts being served by Greenford. The company began to use transit points in Chelmsford and Faversham as cheap logistical alternatives to full working depots. Reciprocal acquisitions saw the

Caledonian Brewery Caledonian Brewery was a Scottish brewery founded in 1869 in the Shandon, Edinburgh, Shandon area of Edinburgh, Scotland. History Early years When it was founded in 1869, the brewery was named the Lorimer and Clark Caledonian Brewery, after it ...

and the Northern Clubs' Federation Brewery in

Gateshead Gateshead () is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, ...

added to the business. In February 2005, Scottish & Newcastle and Carlsberg UK finalised a joint venture to carry out Technical Services work in the UK. Service Dispense Equipment Limited (SDEL) was formed from the dispense assets of both businesses. In 2006, S&N entered into a joint venture with the Swiss-based freight company,

Kuehne and Nagel Kuehne + Nagel International AG (or Kühne + Nagel) is a global transport and logistics company based in Schindellegi, Switzerland. Its main owner and operator is Klaus-Michael Kühne via his ''Kühne Holding'' and ''Kühne Foundation' ...

to set up a UK drinks distribution company (K+N Drinks Logistics). Some 3,000 S&N employees transferred to the new business. On 17 October 2007,

Heineken International Heineken Naamloze vennootschap, N.V. (), branded as The Heineken Company is a Dutch multinational corporation, multinational brewery, brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. Heineken owns over 165 breweries in m ...

and

jointly announced that they were considering forming a consortium to bid for, and acquire the total capitalisation of Scottish & Newcastle. No formal offer had been put to S&N at the time. On 25 October, however, Heineken and Carlsberg announced that they had submitted a written proposal to S&N. They invited S&N to discuss a possible offer, the terms as to which they were prepared to proceed included a bid of 720 pence per share. The offer was immediately rejected by the Board of S&N, who believed that it significantly undervalued the worth of the S&N group. On 31 October, S&N announced that it had requested the Danish Courts to begin arbitration proceedings between itself and Carlsberg A/S in relation to the latter's alleged contractual infringements, relating to the joint ownership of Baltic Beverages Holdings (BBH). Carlsberg immediately countered that it believed S&N's claims were "spurious and without merit". A new offer was made public on 15 November 2007 by Carlsberg and Heineken, raising the offer to 750 pence per share. The partners claimed this was "substantially in excess of the standalone independent value of S&N". On 17 January 2008, S&N announced that it was now in formal discussions with the consortium, following a revised proposal to purchase the business for £8 per share. On 25 January 2008, following limited due diligence and discussions with S&N, the consortium announced a formal cash offer for the entire S&N business at £8 per share. This offer had the full support of the S&N Board and was recommended to shareholders. On 31 March 2008, shareholders approved the £7.8 billion takeover by Heineken and Carlsberg. The acquisition was completed on 29 April 2008 as S&N's shares were

delisted In corporate finance, a listing refers to the company's shares being on the list (or board) of stock that are publicly listed. Some stock exchanges allow shares of a foreign company to be listed and may allow dual listing, subject to conditions. ...

from the

. On 23 November 2009, the company changed its name to Heineken UK Ltd. to reflect the owner's name.

Breweries

Scottish & Newcastle employed 40,000 people in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, brewing beer at: *The Fountain Brewery,

– closed 2004 *

– closed 2022 *The Tyne Brewery,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

– closed 2005 *The Federation Brewery,

– bought 2004, closed 2010 *T & R Theakston's Brewery,

Masham Masham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 1,205 at the 2011 census. The town is located northwest of York and was in the former Borough of Harrogate, Harrogate ...

(S&N had a majority holding in this brewery. It is now once again owned by the Theakston family) *

John Smith's Brewery John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s. The majority of John Smith's sales are of the nitrogenated Extra Smooth ...

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north-east of Leeds and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the lowest road crossing-point o ...

*The Berkshire Brewery,

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

(closed April 2010) *The Royal Brewery,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

*Beamish Brewery,

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

*Crawford Brewery, Cork

Operations

S&N owned or co-owned three of the top ten beers in Europe. *

Baltika Baltika Brewery () is the second largest brewing company in Europe, and the leader of the Russian beer market with over 38% market share. It is headquartered in St. Petersburg. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Carlsberg Group attemp ...

(stake acquired by Carlsberg) * Foster's (European rights, now owned by Heineken) *

1664. (now owned by Carlsberg, although S&N UK/Heineken retain UK rights on a 50-year supply contract) In addition to these key brands, its portfolio included other well-known drinks brands (acquirer in brackets): *

John Smith's John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s. The majority of John Smith's sales are of the nitrogenated Extra Smooth ...

(Heineken) *

Strongbow Cider Strongbow is a dry cider produced by H. P. Bulmer in the United Kingdom since 1960. Strongbow is the world's leading cider with a 15 per cent volume share of the global cider market and a 29 per cent volume share of the UK cider market.Al ...

in the UK. (Heineken) * Sagres in Portugal (Heineken) * Lapin Kulta in Finland (Heineken) *

Mythos Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

in Greece (stake acquired by Carlsberg) *

Maes pils Maes pils is a Belgian pils brewed by Alken-Maes. The beer was first produced in 1930 for Antwerp's Universal Exposition and called Prima Maezenbier. After Jupiler and Stella Artois, it is the third best-selling pilsner in Belgium. In 2008, ...

in Belgium (Heineken) *

Kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

in India (stake acquired by Heineken) * Beamish Stout in Ireland (Heineken) * Bulmers Cider in the UK. (Heineken) *

Newcastle Brown Ale Newcastle Brown Ale is a brown ale, originally brewed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It was launched in 1927 by Colonel Jim Porter after three years of development. The 1960 merger of Newcastle Breweries with Scottish Brewers afforded the bee ...

, heartland in the North East of England. (Heineken) *

Grimbergen Grimbergen () is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium, north of the capital Brussels. The municipality comprises the towns of Beigem, Grimbergen, Hu ...

, a Belgian Abbey beer. (Carlsberg) *

in Scotland. (Heineken) *

Younger's Younger's Brewery (William Younger & Company) was a brewery in Edinburgh. Established in 1749, it became one of the city’s main commercial enterprises, supplying domestic and foreign markets.D E Keir, ''The Younger centuries : the story of Wi ...

in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Heineken) *

Simonds Simonds may refer to: People * D'Marcus Simonds (born 1997), American basketball player *Gavin Simonds, 1st Viscount Simonds (1881–1971), British judge *George Blackall Simonds (1843–1929), English sculptor *Major General George S. Simonds (18 ...

of Reading, Berkshire. (Wells & Young) Brands licensed to them included: *Beamish *

* Foster's *

*Websters The Hofmeister brand was a 3.2%

abv Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as alc/vol or ABV) is a common measure of the amount of alcohol contained in a given alcoholic beverage. It is defined as the volume the ethanol in the liquid would take if separated from the rest of the solution, ...

pale lager Pale lager is a pale-to- golden lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness. In the mid-19th century, Gabriel Sedlmayr took British pale ale brewing and malt making techniques back to the Spaten Bre ...

produced by Scottish Courage (later Scottish & Newcastle) from the 1980s to 2003. The brand was marketed in the 1980s with a series of advertisements featuring a bear, George, with a shiny, yellow jacket and a

pork pie hat A pork pie hat is one of several different styles of hat that have been worn since the mid-19th century. The pork pie hat gained further popularity in the 20th century, being worn by famous actors and musicians. This style of hat features a flat ...

. In 2016, the Hofmeister brand returned with a new 5% recipe.

Division of the business between the Carlsberg/Heineken consortium

Heineken acquired: S&N UK;

Beamish and Crawford Beamish and Crawford was a brewery in Cork, Ireland, established in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford on the site of an existing porter brewery. In the early 1800s, it was the largest brewery in Ireland. Beamish and Crawford operat ...

– ROI;

– Finland;

Alken Maes Alken-Maes is a Belgian brewery created out of the 1988 merger of two small breweries, Maes located at Kontich-Waarloos and Cristal-Alken located at Alken. It was bought by Scottish & Newcastle in 2000, who were taken over by Carlsberg and H ...

– Belgium;

Central de Cervejas Sociedade Central de Cervejas (SCC; full name: SCC – Sociedade Central de Cervejas e Bebidas, S.A.) is a Portuguese brewery, founded in 1934. Its main output is the Sagres brand of beers. The company has been controlled by Heineken since Ap ...

– Portugal; Indian JV with UB; US export business and other venture markets. Carlsberg acquired: Remaining 50% of Baltic Beverages Holdings;

– France;

Mythos (beer) Mythos () is a Greek beer created in 1997, and since 2015 produced by the Olympic Brewery, a subsidiary of Carlsberg Group. History In 1992, the Boutari Group purchased the ''Henninger Hellas S.A.'' company, the local Greek distributor of the Ge ...

– Greece; Chongqing joint venture in China; Venture markets:- Switzerland; Africa; Hungary; Luxembourg; Indian Ocean; South and Central America and Asia.

References

External links

Records of Newcastle Breweries, Ltd, 1912-1993
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scottish and Newcastle Breweries in Scotland Companies based in Edinburgh Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange British companies established in 1749 British companies disestablished in 2008 British royal warrant holders 1749 establishments in Scotland Defunct breweries of the United Kingdom 2008 disestablishments in Scotland 2008 mergers and acquisitions Food and drink companies established in 1749