Historic Suffolk brewery Adnams in scramble to raise new funds

Published

2 years ago

February 10, 2024

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Adnams, one of the most historic names in British brewing, has drafted in City advisers to raise new funding amid a deluge of insolvencies across the sector.

Sky News has learnt that Adnams is working with Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) on a range of options to shore up its finances.

People close to the situation said these were likely to include an injection of private capital from a high net worth investor or family office.

The sale of some of Adnams’ freehold assets from its estate of pubs and inns would also be considered, they added.

The objective of the plan is understood to be to raise capital to pay down bank debt and fund further growth initiatives.

This weekend, the Southwold-based company sought to distance itself from the idea that it could consider an outright sale, which some industry figures had speculated about in recent weeks.

A spokesman for Adnams, whose B-shares are listed on the junior stock market Aquis, said: “We have instructed advisors to explore a range of options to fund our future growth plans.”

The appointment of A&M comes several months after Dr Jonathan Adnams, a member of the company’s founding family and now its long-standing chairman, told investors that continued inflationary pressures were having a detrimental effect on consumer demand.

Operating losses in the first half of its financial year increased to £2.4m on flat revenues of about £30m.

Dr Adnams pointed to the ongoing slump in the number of pubs across Britain, and a 25% decline in the size of the cask beer market since 2019.

An Adnams insider said, however, that trading had been “very positive” in January amid signs of consumer confidence returning and some input cost increase beginning to ease.

Adnams’ best-known products include a strong ale called Broadside, Kobold lager and Blackshore stout.

It has also diversified into the no and low-alcohol beer categories, with Ghost Ship, a 0.5% ABV product, now among its bestsellers, particularly during the ‘dry January’ adopted by many consumers.

Adnams’ name now also adorns a range of wines, such as Tally-ho, as well as gin and whisky.

The company was founded in 1890, although family members George and Ernest Adnams had originally purchased the Sole Bay Brewery 18 years earlier.

The founding family remains the company’s largest shareholder, with Dr Adnams, the chairman, owning a stake of approximately 20%.

The business is run by Andy Wood, who joined it in the mid-1990s and became chief executive in 2010.

Adnams boasts an illustrious board including the veteran marketer Steven Sharp and Simon Townsend, the former boss of pub giant Ei Group.

Sacha Berendji, a senior Marks & Spencer executive, is also a non-executive director of the brewery.

Its Aquis-listed shares have fallen by about two-thirds during the last year, although its minuscule market capitalisation of just £9m is misleading because only a small proportion of its shares are traded.

The search for new capital comes after a series of bankruptcies in the brewing sector.

Last year, Yorkshire-based Black Sheep collapsed into administration before being bought by Breal, an investment firm.

Breal has since acquired a number of other distressed players, including Purity Brewing Company, the owner of Session IPA.

Leeds-based North Brewing Co also fell into administration last month before being sold to a local industry executive.

Business

Elon Musk’s $1trn pay package approved by Tesla

Published

28 mins ago

November 7, 2025

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Elon Musk's trn pay package approved by Tesla

Elon Musk could be on track for a $1trn (£761bn) pay package – if Tesla meets a series of extremely ambitious targets over the next 10 years.

The world’s richest man has the potential to become a trillionaire after the controversial plans were approved by 75% of the company’s shareholders.

It would be the largest corporate pay package in history.

However, it won’t be easy. As part of the agreement, Musk will need to deliver 20 million Tesla vehicles over the next decade – more than double the number churned out over the past 12 years.

He will be tasked with dramatically increasing the company’s valuation and operating profits.

Another requirement is for Tesla to roll out one million AI-powered robots – despite the fact it hasn’t released a single one so far.

Musk will also need to come up with a succession plan on who will replace him as the chief executive of Tesla.

As each step is successfully completed, he will receive more company shares and his ownership stake will rise – potentially from 13% now to almost 29%.

And even if Musk falls short of some of these targets, he could end up earning a lot of money.

Figures from Forbes magazine suggest the 54-year-old already has a net worth of $493bn (£375bn) – and while that means he has more money than anyone else on the planet, he isn’t the richest person in history… yet.

That title belongs to John D Rockefeller, the railroad titan who had a wealth of $630bn (£480bn) back in 1913 – when adjusted for inflation.

Why?

Now is the moment Tesla wants to innovate, develop into robotics, self-driving and embrace the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).

It’s seeking a visionary leader to spearhead this move. And a lot of Tesla’s market value is tied up in this ambition.

Tesla’s board of directors, who oversee the management of the business, are adamant that only Musk can make the lofty ambitions a reality.

Some believe there’s no one else like Musk.

More shares in the company are “critical to keep Musk at the helm to lead Tesla through the most critical time in the company’s history”, said financial services firm Wedbush.

“We believe this was the smart move by the board to lay out these incentives/pay package at this key time as the biggest asset for Tesla is Musk … and with the AI revolution, this is a crucial time for Tesla ahead with autonomous and robotics front and centre.”

Opposition

Not everyone is in favour of the pay package.

Major investor advice firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) warned the 10-year pay agreement reduces the board’s ability “to meaningfully adjust future pay levels in the event of unforeseen events or changes in either the performance or strategic focus of the company over the next decade”.

In a note, ISS said: “The high value of each tranche could also potentially undermine Musk’s desire to achieve all goals and create significant value for shareholders”, and that the goals “lack precision”.

Musk has described ISS and another major adviser, Glass Lewis, as “corporate terrorists”.

There was speculation he would walk away from the business if the package was not agreed on.

Business

ITV in ‘preliminary’ talks over £1.6bn sale of media and entertainment arm to Sky

Published

2 hours ago

November 7, 2025

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ITV has revealed talks with Sky, the owner of Sky News, over the possible sale of its media and entertainment (M&E) division in a deal worth £1.6bn.

Sky News understands the approach centres on the potential creation of a UK-focused streaming giant.

The division takes in ITV’s current broadcast operations and channels, which are largely dependent on advertising revenue.

The talks do not include the company’s studios arm, which makes shows such as I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Money latest: Mortgage price war predicted

“There can be no certainty as to the terms upon which any potential sale may be agreed or whether any transaction will take place”, a statement by ITV to the London Stock Exchange said.

“A further announcement will be made in due course if appropriate”, it concluded.

ITV shares jumped by 15% in early trading in response to the statement.

Sky, which is wholly owned by the US media and entertainment firm Comcast, declined to comment.

ITV released its statement after news of the discussions were first revealed by Bloomberg News.

Just hours earlier, the company’s latest financial results showed it was moving to save millions of pounds due to an advertising slowdown.

ITV reported delays to some programmes over the coming months to save costs as a result.

It predicted a 9% decline in ad revenues across 2025, with the most recent trends being blamed on advertisers pulling back on spending in anticipation of the chancellor’s budget later this month.

It is understood that a possible deal between Sky and ITV would seek to create a larger, more attractive proposition for advertisers in the UK streaming sphere through a focus on UK audiences.

ITV has long been the subject of takeover speculation.

The latest came from the Reuters news agency earlier this year when it reported early-stage talks with Abu Dhabi-backed group RedBird IMI about a possible merger of their respective production businesses.

French media group Banijay was also reported to have held discussions about a possible offer for ITV’s studio business or a full takeover.

Business

Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package approved by Tesla

Published

9 hours ago

November 7, 2025

admin

Elon Musk could be on track for a $1trn (£761bn) pay package – if Tesla meets a series of extremely ambitious targets over the next 10 years.

The world’s richest man has the potential to become a trillionaire after the controversial plans were approved by shareholders.

However, it won’t be easy. As part of the agreement, Musk will need to deliver 20 million Tesla vehicles over the next decade – more than double the number churned out over the past 12 years.

He will be tasked with dramatically increasing the company’s valuation and operating profits.

Another requirement is for Tesla to roll out one million AI-powered robots – despite the fact it hasn’t released a single one so far.

Musk will also need to come up with a succession plan on who will replace him as the chief executive of Tesla.

As each step is successfully completed, he will receive more company shares and his ownership stake will rise – potentially from 13% now to almost 29%.

And even if Musk falls short of some of these targets, he could end up earning a lot of money.

That title belongs to John D. Rockefeller, the railroad titan who had wealth of $630bn (£480bn) back in 1913 – when adjusted for inflation.

Why?

Now is the moment Tesla wants to innovate, develop into robotics, self-driving and embrace the growth of artificial intelligence (AI).

It’s seeking a visionary leader to spearhead this move. And a lot of Tesla’s market value is tied up in this ambition.

Tesla’s board of directors, who oversee the management of the business, are adamant that only Musk can make the lofty ambitions a reality.

Some believe there’s no one else like Musk.

More shares in the company are “critical to keep Musk at the helm to lead Tesla through the most critical time in the company’s history”, said financial services firm Wedbush.

“Getting Musk’s pay package approved will be a big step towards advancing Tesla’s future goals,” Wedbush analysts wrote.

Opposition

Not everyone is in favour of the pay package.

Mr Musk has described ISS and another major adviser, Glass Lewis, as “corporate terrorists”.

There was speculation he would walk away from the business if the package was not agreed on.