Brains on the move in Cardiff

Press release from Brains Brewery:

S.A. Brain confirms new brewery location

S.A. Brain is delighted to announce the location of its new brewery and support centre as Courtney House, in the Pacific Business Park, Cardiff.

Contracts have now been exchanged on the property, 1.5 miles from Cardiff’s city centre, with production at the new site expected to begin in early 2019.

Brains’ head office and support centre functions are expected to move to Courtney House in May/June 2018, by which time Brains hopes to have completed most of the building works for its new brewery.

John Rhys, Chairman of Brains, commented: “We are delighted to have secured our new home, which represents an exciting new chapter in our 135-year history of brewing and hospitality retailing from our Cardiff base.”

Brains Chief Executive, Scott Waddington, added: “Courtney House offers us the ideal facility to construct a modern, fit-for-purpose new brewery, in addition to developing the first floor into a high-quality office space. With a contract now in place, our effort will turn to the interior design of the building, which we will enhance for our own purposes and use to establish the Brains culture in our new home.

“We are finalising our plans for the brewery, which presents a real opportunity for full modernisation and readying the business for the future.”

Plans for the development of the current Brains Brewery site on Crawshay Street in Central Cardiff are being led by property developer Rightacres and are well advanced. The site is likely to include a multi-storey car park, a 12-storey office block, a hotel and potentially a university campus.

John Rhys commented further: “To complement our proposed new brewery and head office in Pacific Business Park, we also envisage developing a new venue within the existing brewhouse building alongside the famous Brains chimney at Crawshay Street, which would encompass a pub, microbrewery and visitor attraction, to showcase our iconic Welsh brand in a prime city centre location.”

Rhys James, Head of Cushman & Wakefield’s office in Cardiff, advised Brains on their relocation.

 He commented: “Relocating Wales’ most recognised brewing and hospitality business from their historic HQ in Cardiff city centre presented quite a challenge, but also a great opportunity. After an extensive exercise scrutinising various existing properties and new-build schemes, we were able to secure Courtney House, which with some modest adaptations will be able to accommodate a new state-of-the-art brewery, whilst also providing modern offices for Brains’ HQ.”