We’re now employee owned!
HUGE NEWS! We’re incredibly excited to announce that Abbeydale Brewery is changing hands… and the new owners are all of the staff who make up Team Abbeydale!
Ever since brewery founder Patrick Morton started Abbeydale Brewery back in 1996, he knew he wanted to do things a little differently, and we’ve always been people powered at heart. But now that’s a legal reality, and entrenched into the very core of our existence as we become an Employee Ownership Trust (an EOT).
As we approach our 30-year anniversary, and with owners Pat and Sue beginning to look forward to a very well-earned retirement, they started to look towards how best to ensure the legacy and success the business has enjoyed over the past three decades could continue after they fully step back from their day-to-day responsibilities (which, we hasten to add, won’t be for a while yet… they’re still here!). And we’re thrilled that they’ve decided that the best long-term custodians for the business – encompassing both the brewery itself and our pub, The Rising Sun – are all of us, the people who’ve helped them to build it, together.
There are 57 members of staff in total who make up Team Abbeydale (split fairly evenly between the two sides of the business) and between us we have almost three centuries of experience here! Both the brewery and pub will now come under the new umbrella of Sheffield Beerworks EOT Ltd.
There’s no selling out to the big boys here – just an independent brewery and thriving community pub, renewing our commitment to independence through business succession and strengthening the legacy we’ve already worked so hard to build.
It’s leaving the business in the hands of those who know it best, as well as recognising the contribution our employees have made and continue to make. For us as employees, it means entrenching our stake in the business and a say in how things are run (a privilege we all enjoy informally already), as well as enhancing the sense of pride and empowerment we share, ensuring a strong understanding of who we are, our values, and how we’re going to use that knowledge to get to where we want to be.
The name we’ve democratically chosen for the new Trust, Sheffield Beerworks EOT Ltd, is a nod to our past – some of our longstanding customers may remember that our early beers, including all of the original Doctor Morton’s series, were released under the Beerworks brand – so it already has a connection to us. It seems like fate to be able to bring back something which was important to our history to now be a part of our future too.
To celebrate, look out for our special beer, Trust. It will launch at The Rising Sun on Monday, 14th October and Sheffield Steel City Beer Festival on Wednesday, 16th October, so please join us for a pint of it and have a chat with the team about what this means to us. This beer recipe was collectively voted for by all of Team Abbeydale – our new owners – and is a representation of what we think we do best. The “Big 3” hops from our core range, Willamette, Nelson Sauvin and Mosaic, in an easy drinking, sessionable, hazy pale ale with plenty of character. Combining our legacy with our future in a people-powered beer.
In terms of the day-to-day operations here, nothing will really change. It’s the same staff, doing the same things, just with the addition of also being co-owners! We’ve always known we’ve got something a little bit special going on here, and a distinct ethos that’s always put the team at the heart of everything we do. We’re hugely excited for this next chapter in Abbeydale Brewery’s story, and looking forward to having the opportunity to share in our continued growth.
Thank you to everyone who’s supported us over the past 28 years. We do hope you’ll come with us on the next exciting stage of our journey.
Cheers!
Team Abbeydale – Co-Owners of Abbeydale Brewery and The Rising Sun
