BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
David Fearnhead speaks with the CEO of Thwaites Rick Bailey about the brewery’s exciting new beginnings in the Ribble Valley
There’s been a Thwaites Brewery in Blackburn since 1807. That’s 211 years of history that will draw to a close as they turn the page on a new era in the Ribble Valley.
For Thwaites CEO Rick Bailey it wasn’t an easy decision, but a very necessary one.
“This is all about the future,” says Rick of their move. “It’s a very positive step for us and bold because we’ve been on our Blackburn premises for over two centuries. The current brewery was built in the late 60s and is too big for what we need now.”
Rick joined the business in 2002, and has seen some major changes in the industry. “It’s been very dramatic. In the last 20 years the volume of beer drunk on licensed premises has halved. At the same time the number of craft brewers and micro brewers has exploded. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that if the market is declining and the number of people operating in that market is going up it’s going to be a challenging environment to make money in.”
Thwaites needed to change how they operated if they were going to stay around for another century of business. So in 2015 they took the step of ending their high volume wholesaling business that had seen them supply supermarkets and clubs. They also reduced the number of pubs they operated from 440 to 260. Their managed house business was also either sold off or transferred to tenancy.
“We’re much more nimble now. One of the differences is that people visiting pubs want to experience variety. They range shop and are much more interested in trying new flavours and new beers, so it’s great that our brewery is much more flexible now to be able to do that. Our brewers are excited to be creating a new range of beers for our pubs which will also cater to that.”
For Thwaites, the focus now is on quality. In the last six years they’ve invested £25 million into their tenanted pubs. A further £75 million has been invested into 24 properties with accommodation. These make up their inns and hotels business, which has been rebranded as the ‘House of Daniel Thwaites’ after the founder of the company.
“There’s been a big investment in the business to set it fair for the future,” says Rick. “We’ve embarked on a process of renewal and moving to Mellor Brook is the culmination of a very significant investment programme.”
The Mellor Brook site has seen close to a £10 million investment in order to set Thwaites up for the 21st century and beyond. The site, just off the A59, was acquired three years ago, and building began last year. The 13-month build programme should see Thwaites ready to move into their new Ribble Valley home in early September.
“We’re moving from Blackburn into our new site and with that about 100 jobs also moving to the Ribble Valley. We’re using local business Barnfield Construction, who have done an absolutely fabulous job. They’ve been great to work with and have delivered a quality job on time and on budget.”
Rick’s passion for the business is obvious and that might have something to do with the fact he’s married into the family. “Yes, we are a family business and I’m a part of the family that’s been running this business since 1807. I’ve done exactly what Daniel Thwaites did in that he came into the business through marrying Betty Duckworth, who was the daughter of the owner of the brewery at the time. He took on the brewery after her father and I too have married the daughter of the family who are involved in the brewery.”
Rick knows the family history too and tradition is obviously something important to him. “Daniel Thwaites came from a farming family near Keswick, in the Lake District, when he first set out and became an excise collector in Penrith, then he became part of the business that now is Thwaites brewery. He was a tax man that then went off to run a brewery, and that thread has now run for six generations through his family. It’s quite astonishing really when you compare it to the lifecycle of businesses these days. Facebook started in 2007, Google 1998, and the internet itself is only 30 years old. We’ve been going 210 years.”
Rick says that Thwaites’ longevity is down to focusing on quality. “So as long as we never lose sight of that, of giving people something they want and doing things well, then we’ll be doing the best we can. My involvement is to lead the business today but also be a steward for the future. We look to the long term and invest for the long term. I suppose I’m lucky that I can make decisions based on where we want to be 10 to 20 years from now.”
Rick has lived in the North West since 2009 having grown up in Essex and has plenty of praise for the local area.
“The Ribble Valley is a stunning place and we’re very lucky to be able to relocate and be part of it. The towns and villages and countryside really are something special. It’s a wonderful location, a beautiful setting, and we want to create a lovely working environment for our team. We think it will be a great place to attract people to come and work with us.”
Thwaites already have an established presence in the Ribble Valley with pubs such as the nearby Bonny Inn at Salisbury, the Bay Horse at Osbaldeston and the Millstone at Mellor – which will serve as their brewery tap. “We have lots of pubs in the Ribble Valley and what the Ribble Valley really benefits from is having lots of fabulous local produce to serve in our pubs. Our beer is just another part of that.”
The new site also means a serious upgrade for their Shire horses which are very much a Thwaites tradition. “The stables are wonderful,” says Rick. “We are one of the last breweries to maintain Shire horses and everybody loves them. They are an iconic part of us.”
As such a new sculpture by Andrew Kay has been commissioned for the new site. The 2.5 ton sculpture – made in Andy’s studio in Lupton, near Kirkby Lonsdale, was created from 600 pieces of steel and measures eight metres long by 3.8m high.
“We needed a stunning centrepiece for our new development and what Andrew has created for us is really brilliant. We knew he would be just the man for the job and his final work is even better than we hoped.”
The larger stables also means a newcomer will join Shire horses Wainwright, Gunner and Ribble. “Yes, we’re just buying a new horse,” says Rick. “All name suggestions from Live Ribble Valley readers will be very welcome.”
Though Horsey McHorseface won’t be considered!
