Marstons

Marston's plc

Type	Public
Traded as	:
Industry	Brewing, pubs
Founded	1834
Founder	John Marston
Headquarters	Wolverhampton, West Midlands, UK
Key people	Roger Devlin (Chairman) Ralph Findlay (CEO)
Products	Beer
Revenue	£905.8 million (2016)
Operating income	£172.7 million (2016)
Net income	£73.0 million (2016)
Number of employees	13,501 (2016)
Website	www.marstons.co.uk

Marston's is a British brewery and pub operator. It operates over 1,700 pubs in the UK, and is the world's largest brewer of cask ale. 90 per cent of profits come from the pubs division. It was known as Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries plc until 2007 when it rebranded as Marston's.

It owns five breweries and brands including Marston's, Banks's, Jennings, Ringwood and Wychwood. Its priority products are Marston's Pedigree and Wychwood Hobgoblin.

In 1834, John Marston established J. Marston & Son at the Horninglow Brewery at Burton upon Trent. By 1861 the brewery produced 3,000 barrels a year. In 1890, Marston & Son Ltd was registered as a limited liability company. In 1898 Marston's amalgamated with John Thompson & Son Ltd and moved to Albion Brewery on Shobnall Road, which the company still operates. By this time the brewery had a capacity of 100,000 barrels a year. It was at this time that the Burton Union system began to be used. In 1905, the company merged with Sydney Evershed to form Marston, Thompson & Evershed.

Banks & Co has been brewing at the Park Brewery in Wolverhampton since 1875. In 1890 Banks became Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries when the company amalgamated with George Thompson & Sons and Charles Colonel Smith's Brewery. In 1943 Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries took over Julia Hanson & Sons, with 200 pubs. It was first listed on the in 1947. It acquired Camerons Brewery in Hartlepool in 1992 and sold it to Castle Eden in 2002, whilst retaining some of Cameron's tied pubs.

In 1999, Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries purchased Marston, Thompson & Evershed, and in the same year took over the Mansfield Brewery of Nottinghamshire and closed it down, transferring production of Mansfield beers to the Park Brewery. In 2005, Marston's Brewery took over production under licence from Interbrew of Draught Bass, succeeding Coors. Later in 2005, the Jennings Brewery of Cockermouth was purchased and in 2007 Hampshire based Ringwood Brewery, which was established in 1978, and brews Best Bitter, Fortyniner, and Old Thumper, was acquired. In 2007, the company changed its name from Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries plc to Marston's plc.