Scottish independent craft brewer Innis & Gunn has increased its annual group turnover by 22% to more than £14.3 million in 2016, up from £11.8 million in 2015.
The Edinburgh-based brewer also increased its annual gross profit by 25% from £6.8 million in 2015 to £8.5 million last year.
Sales volume passed 2.2 million cases for the first time. This was the 13th consecutive year of volume growth which means that over the last 5 years volume has increased by 175%, including sales of the Inveralmond Brewery brands which were successfully integrated into the Innis & Gunn business last year.
The figures are representative of a transformative year for Innis & Gunn, one that saw the brewer purchase the Inveralmond Brewery- now The Innis & Gunn Brewery – in Perth, and acquire the Inveralmond portfolio of award winning beers, open two new Beer Kitchens in Scotland, sign distribution deals in France, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and raise £2.5 million in equity crowdfunding.
This financial announcement means that Innis & Gunn is well on track to reach its publicly stated goal of £25 million in turnover by 2018. The brewer also plans to treble its beer production over the next 12 months at its Perth brewery.
Innis & Gunn’s performance in international markets contributed significantly to the Brewer’s growth in 2016. Canada continues to be the largest export market, delivering just over a fifth of total volume for the business. Almost 600,000 bottles of Innis & Gunn beer were sold in the first year of the new joint-venture with SIP Drinks in France, and volume is expected to double in this market in the next 12 months.
In the UK, an exceptionally strong performance for Innis & Gunn Lager has seen sales almost quadruple over the last two years. 2016 also saw Innis & Gunn successfully launch Session IPA, brewed at the Innis & Gunn Brewery in Perth.
Last year, Innis & Gunn opened two Beer Kitchens in Dundee and St. Andrews. The Beer Kitchen brand is Innis & Gunn’s award winning bar and restaurant concept serving a wide range of craft beer alongside a specially curated menu, creatively developed for food and beer pairings. Innis & Gunn’s first Beer Kitchen opened up in Edinburgh in 2015. It has since added a fourth Beer Kitchen in Glasgow’s West End, its largest site to date.
Tony Hunt, Chairman of the Board of Innis & Gunn said:
“2016 was an outstanding year for Innis & Gunn and the start of a planned transformation of our business. We acquired our first-ever brewery, opened new Beer Kitchens, launched some delicious new beers, achieved record sales volumes and won our 46th award for quality since 2009. To top it off, through our crowdfunding we brought nearly 2,000 new shareholders into the Innis & Gunn community. Most important of all, we laid the foundations from which we plan to double the size of this business over the next two years.
Around the world, the opportunity is huge as increasing numbers of consumers develop a taste for authentic craft beer, and thanks to Dougal Gunn Sharp and our highly talented brewing team Innis & Gunn is ideally placed to benefit from that trend.”
