Family-owned Tottenham brewer falls into administration as industry pressures mount
A beloved family-owned Tottenham brewery that was a key player in London’s craft beer renaissance has fallen into administration amidst mounting cost pressures on the industry.
Redemption Brewing Company, which was the first commercial brewery to open in Tottenham in nearly 100 years, is officially listed on the formal register of new insolvency appointments as having appointed administrators.
City AM understands FRP Advisory has been handed the keys to the brewery and is now searching for a suitable buyer. Redemption is continuing to trade throughout the process.
It comes after a winding up petition – a legal manoeuvre to claw back unpaid sums due – was filed against Redemption in January from the HMRC, with a court showdown scheduled for February 2026.
Redemption’s total deficit increased to -£705,111 in 2024 from -£632,151 in 2023, corporate filings show. It recorded a net loss of £72,960 for the latest financial year.
It also noted concern that the industry faces heavy challenges from utility cost inflation, but loan creditors and directors were able to financially prop up the business. Creditors due after more than one year sat at £426,658.
Tottenham staple feels crunch of cost burdens
Redemption Brewing – which was established in 2010 amidst the major revival in the Capital’s craft beer scene – has become a cornerstone of the Tottenham community, sporting a deep connection to the area’s football team.
Products include its flagship and award-winning premium bitter, aptly named Hopspur as a nod to their roots and a new world IPA named big chief.
The brewer supplies around 75 regular pubs in and around London. Its cask ales are also poured at The Antwerp Arms, N17’s oldest working pub and a cornerstone of Tottenham culture. In 2013, local MP David Lammy – now deputy prime minister – even stepped in to help residents rescue the historic venue after corporate developers threatened to bulldoze it for a block of flats.
A statement from FRP said its appointment “follows a sustained period of financial pressure on the business. Rising duty rates in recent years have placed a particular burden on independent brewers, who face a more challenging cost environment than larger national and international competitors.”
Redemption’s woes come as the independent beer market across the UK has entered what the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA) branded a “survival crisis,” driven by the closure of around three brewers a week.
UK brewers face a litany of tax pressures through alcohol duty (charged on alcohol strength), VAT on sales, national insurance on payroll, business rates on their physical warehouse space, and corporation tax on profit.
Hospitality sector feels pinch
Mounting cost pressures have also come from soaring prices of manufacturing and heavy tax hikes on pubs that have left them either closing down or opting for cheaper products from global giants as opposed to local independents.
Late last year, pubs rebelled against business rate changes which sent bills soaring for thousands of landlords.
While Rachel Reeves offered a £300m concession to pubs, hospitality firms have warned they are still under pressure from rising employment costs and energy price hikes caused by the Iran war.
Two thirds of hospitality firms are set to cut jobs as a result of April tax hikes, while one in seven will cease trading altogether.
A number of firms which supply pubs have said these pressures are hitting their own margins.
The brewer of Magners and Bulmers cider said earlier this month that the pressures facing bars and pubs are hitting its own sale volumes.
Roger White, C&C Group’s chief executive, said that cost inflation, a weakening employment market and falling demand meant that their sales to hospitality firms took a dip.
In April, English sparkling wine producer Chapel Down told City AM that the “tax burden” imposed at the Chancellor’s last budget has hit the bars and restaurants that it supplies.
