Marston

Description

Marstons, formerly Wolverhampton and Dudley, has grown with spectacular speed in recent years. It became a super regional in 1999 when it bought both Mansfield and Marstons breweries, though it quickly closed Mansfield. In 2005 it bought Jennings of Cockermouth and has invested £250,000 in Cumbria to expand fermenting and cask racking capacity. In total, Marstons owns 2,200 pubs and supplies some 3,000 free trade pubs and clubs throughout the country. It no longer has a stake in Burtonwood Brewery (qv). It added a further 70 pubs in 2006 when it bought Celtic Inns for £43.6 million. In January 2007 it paid £155 million for the 158-strong Eldridge Pope pub estate. In July 2007 it bought Ringwood in Hampshire and in the same year added Brakspear and Wychwood in Witney, Oxfordshire.