Deals with Tesco and Sainsbury have helped build Leeds Brewery's sales, co-founder Sam Moss claimed, as it announced planned expansion of production and pub operations after securing £395,000 from Santander Corporate & Commercial.
Leeds Brewery offers four permanent beer brands, plus a range of seasonal varieties
Moss told FoodManufacture.co.uk the brewer's traditional heartland remained in cask condition ales, but added: "We have recently got deals with Tesco and Sainsbury for bottled beer. We are doing relatively large volumes into supermarkets."
He explained the company also supplied bottled beers to Asda. "But still our bread and butter is cask ale." However, he said he was constantly open to new business with retailers.
The relatively young business, which was founded in June 2007, now claims to provide 70,000 pints a week to hundreds of UK pubs and supermarket outlets. "We have seen exponential growth over the last six years," said Moss.
He claimed the bank funding could enable it to boost production by almost 25%. "I would like to be able to get an extra 20,000 pints a week out of the door."
Online sales
However, he said the figure obviously depended on how business shaped up in the next year or so. Another potential growth area would be online sales, which Moss said he aimed to explore in greater detail in 2014.
Leeds Brewery produces its flagship Leeds Pale brand across Yorkshire, as well as three other permanent beers: Yorkshire Gold, Leeds Best and Midnight Bell and various seasonal offerings.
It runs six pubs in Leeds city centre and said the new cash injection would also enable it to open its first pub outside the city: the Duke of York in York.
“We are passionate about brewing high quality beers and running high quality pubs and we are pleased to have secured the funding that we need to continue to grow our business,” said Moss in a statement.