Shepherd Neame Announces £15m Investment in New Brewery
Kent based pub operator and brewer Shepherd Neame has announced a £15m investment over three years, in a modern, smaller brewery on its town centre site in Faversham.
Alongside the brewery investment, Shepherd Neame will bring forward a ten-year Development Vision for its Heritage Core, creating a future new destination for the town and a home for the Shepherd Neame story, drawing visitors to this historic market town and supporting its wider hospitality and visitor economy.
The company said it will move to a new brewing model that combines in-house production with certain outsourced functions, such as small packaging.
The new brewing operation will be located within the existing Bottling Hall which will close in mid-2027, to be adapted for this new purpose. The plant will use some of the existing brewery infrastructure, and will continue to draw water from the historic artesian well, in the heart of its site.
The company said it plans to invest £15m in the project to “create a highly efficient and cost-effective facility, with a plant that will enable us to drive quality standards, improve the sustainability of our operations, and provide us with the flexibility to continue to innovate and develop our portfolio in a rapidly evolving beer market”.
It said the investment will simplify operations and drive higher returns for the business, adding the build phase will take two years from commencement, with target completion by the end of 2029. Brewing operations, during this period, will continue in their present location.
Shepherd Neame also issued an AGM trading statement, where it said there was “good underlying momentum in our pubs” and it “continues to trade well in the current year”.
Like-for-like retail sales were up + 6.4 per cent for the 17 weeks to 24 October 2026, and like-for-like income growth of +1.1 per cent in its tenanted estate to 26th September 2026.
For the 17 weeks to 24 October 2026, total beer volume was down -0.6 per cent, and Own Beer volume fell 2.2 per cent.
Chief executive Jonathan Neame said: “This plan is a great opportunity to modernise and evolve our operations, and to create a unique brand home, with brewing at its heart. The new brewery, which will be self-funded, will be adapted to the needs of tomorrow, and will be efficient and cost-effective.
“Combined with sustained investment in our pub business, it will enable us to drive higher returns for the business and its shareholders.
“These steps represent a major commitment to brewing, to Faversham and to our heritage in beer, and our belief in an exciting future for the company, in the next phase of its development.”