By Ian McConnell
Business Editor
SCOTTISH craft beer entrepreneur Kenny Webster is targeting export growth after buying the business, assets and goodwill of Wooha Brewing Company, based at Kinloss in Moray, out of administration.
Mr Webster, who also owns Isle of Skye Brewing Co and Stirling-based Black Wolf Brewery and has made the Wooha acquisition through his North Coast Brewing Co vehicle, has begun rehiring some former employees of the Kinloss business.
The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, was announced yesterday by Wooha joint administrators Tom MacLennan and Iain Fraser, partners with FRP.
Mr Webster also highlighted opportunities to sell Wooha beers in supermarkets, harnessing relationships with buyers in this sector built up through the Isle of Skye and Black Wolf businesses.
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He noted all of Wooha’s workforce, which totalled around 13 when the Kinloss brewer fell into insolvency in March, had been made redundant by the administrators by the time he purchased the business, assets and goodwill.
Mr Webster said he had re-employed two staff, and added: “The ones that have still not got jobs – we are interviewing them next week with a view to bringing them back in. I would probably be looking to bring back in six or eight [in total].”
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He flagged the success of Wooha founder Heather McDonald in building the Kinloss brewery’s exports. He noted Ms McDonald had moved on from Wooha.
Asked what had attracted him to the acquisition, Mr Webster replied: “I think the main thing is Heather had done a very good job of getting into the export market and into 10 different countries.”
He added: “We do a little bit of export but nothing as much as Wooha. That means we can piggy-back Skye and Black Wolf on to that as well.”
Asked about the reopening of the on-trade with the easing of restrictions, Mr Webster said: “Skye is absolutely already flying.”
He noted sales of Isle of Skye Brewing Co’s beers in May had been down only 10 per cent on the same month of 2019, and added: “I am delighted with that.”
When Wooha fell into administration in March, Mr Fraser said: “The business had grown rapidly in recent years, was well-financed, and had a clear strategy and positioning in a crowded market. The business has unfortunately been severely affected by a combination of Covid, the contraction of its main markets and the bureaucracy of Brexit.”
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