1834–2019 In 1834, John Marston established J. Marston & Son at the Horninglow Brewery in
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 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
London Stock Exchange in 1947. 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. In late 2013, there was some controversy when it was announced that Marston's would sell some 200 pubs to new company
New River Retail. The fear was that many would close and be turned into convenience stores. In 2014, the company took over production of most
Thwaites beers. On 31 March 2015, it was announced the company was buying the bulk of Thwaites beer supply business outright and the top two brands Wainwright and Lancaster Bomber for around £25m. In May 2017, Marston's announced further expansion with the acquisition of Charles Wells's Eagle Brewery in Bedford. This gave Marston's ownership of the Bombardier, Courage and McEwan's ale brands, and the global licence for Young's beers.
2020–present In February 2020, Marston's signed a five-year extension to its distribution deal with Japanese beer maker Kirin. In May 2020, it was announced that subject to competition law and shareholder approval, Marston's would merge its brewing business with Carlsberg UK (the United Kingdom arm of
Carlsberg Group), into a joint venture valued at £780m. Marston's will take a 40% stake in the joint venture and receive up to £273m in cash. The deal will involve Marston's six breweries and distribution depots, but not its 1,400 pubs. The merger was approved by the
Competition and Markets Authority on 9 October 2020. The new brewing company will be headquartered in Wolverhampton and be known as
Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company. It was also announced that the transaction was expected to be completed by the end of October 2020. The same month, the company announced that it will cut over 2,150 jobs (a fifth of their employees) as a result of the strict UK government measures to fight the spread of the
COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, Marston's took over the running of 156 pubs in Wales from Welsh brewer
Brains. Andrew Andonis Andrea stepped down as CEO with immediate effect on 17 November 2023. He was replaced by Justin Platt. By May 2023, the business had become heavily indebted; it set a target of reducing net debt to £1 billion by 2026. J.P. Morgan Cazenove analysts said in May 2023 that "a pub estate with mediocre [Like for Like] sales in recent years, combined with still-high leverage, makes us cautious despite attractive valuation metrics." It was announced on 8 July 2024, that Marston's had decided to sell their 40% share in CMBC to Carlsberg, in a bid to concentrate on the running of the pub business, in a deal valued at £206m. Carlsberg is also buying the soft drinks company
Britvic and will combine it with that of CMBC. This does however leave the future of brewing in Wolverhampton in question and also the location of the head office. A review of the business will take place once the sale is completed and the company will notify stakeholders and employees of the future of the business when appropriate. ==Operations==