Greene King has agreed to sell its Old Speckled Hen ale brands to the Barcelona-based brewer Damm, the owner of Estrella lager. The deal includes all Old Speckled Hen lines, including its non-alcoholic and golden ale versions, and marks the latest British beer brand to be acquired by an overseas drinks group.
The pub chain said it would continue to brew the ale at its Westgate site in Bury St Edmunds during a handover period, but production will later move to Damm’s brewery in Bedford, which opened last year. Nick Mackenzie, chief executive of the 227-year-old pub company, said Greene King was “delighted to have secured a partner in Estrella Damm who will continue to brew the ales in the UK”. The companies did not disclose the value of the sale.
After the deal is completed, Old Speckled Hen will remain available in Greene King pubs and major supermarkets in the UK. Greene King said it planned to focus on selling its beers in its own pubs and the UK on-trade, moving away from off-trade retail.
Old Speckled Hen was originally brewed in 1979 by Oxfordshire’s Morland Brewery to mark the MG Car Company’s 50th anniversary of its move from Oxford to Abingdon. The beer was named after the MG Featherlight Saloon, affectionately known as the “owld speckl’d un” because of its mottled appearance. Greene King acquired the brand when it bought Morland in 1999.
The sale to Damm continues a series of foreign takeovers of British beer brands. In 2015, Camden Town Brewery was bought by AB InBev for about £85m, while SAB Miller acquired Meantime Brewing that same year. Fuller, Smith & Turner sold its drinks business, including London Pride, to Japan’s Asahi in 2019. Most recently, Molson Coors announced the closure of the Cornish brewery producing Doom Bar ale.
Luke White, managing director of Damm UK, said Old Speckled Hen was “an iconic British ale brand with a rich heritage and loyal following”. He added that the brand “not only complements the current portfolio range by adding another category to our offering but it also reconnects the Damm Eagle Brewery to its historic British beer and ale production roots”.
