Oakfield Capital Invests in Freedom Brewery

Oakfield Capital Partners is investing £1 million (US$1.53 million) in Freedom Brewery. London-based Freedom is a microbrewer of craft lager.

PRESS RELEASE

Oakfield Capital Partners, a private equity firm specialising in investing in small and midsized British businesses, today announced an EIS investment of £1 million to finance the growth and development of Freedom Brewery in Staffordshire.

London (PRWEB UK) 25 July 2013
Founded in Parsons Green, London in 1995, Freedom Brewery is the longest established microbrewer of craft lager in the UK. Relocating to Staffordshire 6 years ago gave Freedom access to the Burton water table which has been synonymous with high quality brewing for centuries.
Freedom lager is fermented for up to 14 days, maturated for 4 weeks, and then triple filtered. As a result, Freedom’s range of beers has won over 20 International and National awards in the last four years.
Despite a general decline in the UK beer market in the last few years, the market for niche, high end products is buoyant. Freedom is a profitable business with rapidly growing sales.
Oakfield Capital is backing a management team with extensive experience in the UK beer market, who have invested significant capital in the business. Oakfield’s investment will be used to double Freedom’s operating capacity and to ramp up sales and marketing.
Tim Massey, Director of Freedom said: “As top-end pub and restaurant owners seek differentiation from ubiquitous lager brands so we see real opportunity in the craft lager market. Once installed on a bar, craft lager is far more likely to remain as a permanent fixture, unlike its real ale counterparts. Freedom, with a quality keg lager product, provides an excellent base on which to build a fast-growing business.”
Tim Woodcock, partner at Oakfield Capital Partners said: “We are delighted to become investors in a craft brewer that produces an outstanding range of lagers and provide the growth capital that Freedom needs to secure its position in an attractive, growing market.”
This is the first investment for Oakfield Capital’s UK Special Situations Fund which completed its first close in May this year.