Tenterden s Chapel Down disposes of Curious beer and cider brand, and its brewery in Ashford, with private equity firm Risk Capital Partners poised to takeover
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Updated: 15:06, 09 February 2021
Winemaker Chapel Down has ditched its Curious beer and cider range - less than two years after it unveiled a multi-million brewery and visitor centre devoted to it in Ashford.
The Tenterden-based firm said the impact of the lockdown over the last 12 months, while seeing wine sales soar, had hit its trade to pubs hard.
The Curious Brewery in Ashford is set for new owners
Some 90% of its beer is sold to pubs and restaurants - most of which have been forced to close for lengthy periods due to the pandemic.
English winemaker Chapel Down has announced the disposal of its Curious Drinks business and assets, including the Curious Beer and Cider brands as well as the Curious Brewery and restaurant in Ashford, Kent.
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English wine and spirits producer Chapel Down has decided to dispose of its beer and cider arm Curious Drinks in a pre-pack sale to private equity firm Risk Capital Partners.
Sales of beer were decimated by the pandemic
Chapel Down is ditching its beer business Curious Drinks to focus on wine after the brewery’s sales were decimated by the pandemic.
The upmarket winemaker has revealed plans to offload Curious Drinks’ business and assets to Risk Capital Partners, the PE firm founded by well-known entrepreneur Luke Johnson.
Prior to the pandemic, Curious Drinks was selling 90% of its beer to the on-trade, said Chapel Down, which meant it was “significantly impacted” by pub closures over the past year.
Chapel Down had decided “to focus our energy and resources on building the Chapel Down brand and business to ensure we continue to flourish”, said its CEO Frazer Thompson, adding Chapel Down’s wine and spirits volumes had grown 38% in 2020 amid the surge in at-home drinking.