Shepherd Neame Will Invest £15 Million in a Smaller Faversham Brewery

Shepherd Neame said on Thursday, October 29, that it plans to invest £15 million over three years to build a smaller, modern brewing facility in Faversham, Kent, as the British brewer shifts away from large external contracts and focuses more tightly on its own beer brands.

The company said the project is intended to improve efficiency, lower costs and support higher returns. The new operation is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2029, and the construction phase is expected to last two years once work begins. Brewing will continue at its current location during the transition.

The investment marks a significant change in the company’s industrial model. Shepherd Neame said it will stop taking on large third-party brewing contracts and will instead concentrate on brewing its own portfolio. It also plans to combine in-house brewing with outsourced work for some functions, including small-format packaging.

The new brewing operation will be housed in the existing bottling hall at the company’s town-center site in Faversham. That hall is due to close in mid-2027 so it can be converted for its new role. The company said the new plant will continue to use parts of the current brewery infrastructure, including water drawn from its artesian well on the site.

Shepherd Neame described the project as a way to secure brewing in Faversham for the long term. The brewer, founded in 1698 and based in the Kent town, had about 1,600 employees and 280 pubs as of October 29. Its business combines beer production and distribution with ownership and operation of pubs and other hospitality venues.

The company said the £15 million outlay is a planned investment, not spending already completed. It expects to fund the project through the sale of non-core property as it reduces its footprint in central Faversham to what it calls its “Heritage Core,” a cluster of buildings behind Court Street. Alongside the brewery overhaul, Shepherd Neame said it will bring forward a 10-year redevelopment vision for the retained site, including offices, retail, a pub, hospitality and events space, an expanded visitor offering and a new open public area called Brewery Square.

The strategy reflects pressure and change in the brewing side of the business. In the 17 weeks to October 24, Shepherd Neame said total beer volume fell 0.6%, while volume of its own beers dropped 2.2%. At the same time, its pub estate showed stronger trading. Like-for-like retail sales in pubs rose 6.4% over the same 17-week period, and like-for-like income in its tenanted estate increased 1.1% in the period to September 26.

The company said it does not expect the brewery changes to alter market expectations for fiscal 2027.

A key part of the shift is the end of some external brand work. Shepherd Neame said its exclusive license to brew and distribute Singha Lager will end in April 2027. The company said that contract is currently associated with £10.3 million in revenue. It said its full existing beer range will remain available from the new facility, including brands such as Spitfire, Bishops Finger and Whitstable Bay.

The announcement came ahead of the company’s annual general meeting on Friday, October 30. In its trading statement, Shepherd Neame said the combination of brewing and pubs remains central to its business, and that it will continue investing in its pub estate while reshaping the brewery side.

The pub investment program is currently focused on London sites and is expected to shift more toward coastal inns and hotels. The company also said it plans to keep selling outlets with limited potential and to reinvest those proceeds in stronger-performing sites.

For Shepherd Neame, the brewery project is both a cost and capacity decision and a property decision. By moving to a smaller production model and outsourcing some packaging work, the company is seeking to simplify operations at a time when its brewing volumes have weakened. By selling non-core property and retaining a smaller heritage-focused center in Faversham, it is also trying to finance the industrial upgrade without adding a new funding burden.

The company did not provide comparable hectoliter figures for the recent volume declines or cite a directly comparable earlier brewery investment. It framed the plan as a response to a fast-changing beer market and said the new site would give it more flexibility to develop and refresh its portfolio.

Chief Executive Jonathan Neame said the new brewery would be designed for future needs and paired with continued spending on pubs. He said the plan was intended to modernize operations while keeping brewing in Faversham at the center of the company’s identity.

The company’s statement was issued as a primary-source market announcement and said a review of strategy in other parts of its Brewing and Brands business is still under way. It said further information would be provided later.