- Southampton’s largest craft brewery and taproom has closed
- Causes include Covid and the cost of living crisis
Southampton’s Unity Brewing Co has closed after six and a half years. Set up in 2016 by Southampton native Jimmy Hatherley, it expanded from its first site in Portswood to a 3x larger premises in Northam in 2019, which was only months before the first Covid lockdown and its subsequent three years of enormous trading challenges.
“It is heartbreaking to have to close Unity,” says Jimmy. “Unfortunately the terrible combination of Covid, Brexit and the cost of living crisis have made it impossible for us to operate without making a loss every month.”
Unity has built a reputation as one of the UK’s highest quality breweries, selling nationwide and internationally, hosting its own beer festivals and winning multiple awards for its beer.
Its flagship Conflux pale ale was named after the confluence of Southampton’s rivers Itchen and Test and the business has always focused on promoting and supporting its hometown.
Unity’s closure is part of a wider trend in the independent brewing industry, with 82 breweries having closed in the last year amid insurmountable rising costs and cautious customer spending.
“Unity’s successes would have been impossible without our incredible team, loyal customers and awesome collaborators, as well as our 300 strong community of investors who have shown such belief in Unity, and I want to thank them all,” Jimmy says. “I am absolutely gutted to close the shutters on Unity for the last time but I will always be so proud of everything we created together.”
The Unity Bottleshop & Tasting Room launched in November 2022 in Bedford Place and will now undergo a rebrand, continuing to operate as the city’s dedicated craft beer, natural wine and no-/low-alcohol drinks retailer, with all staff retained.
Unity shareholders with a discount card will be entitled to their shareholder discount on all purchases at the bottleshop ongoing.
Alongside this Jimmy is starting the development of a new brewing project, with details to follow in the spring.
The bottleshop will host a ‘Farewell to Unity’ party on Saturday 25 Feb, 12pm-10pm, that everyone is welcome at to enjoy the final Unity beers.
People can sign up to the bottleshop newsletter on its current website and follow it on Facebook and Instagram.
FOR INTERVIEWS & HI-RES PHOTOGRAPHY:
Jimmy Hatherley
Founder & Head Brewer
Unity Brewing Co Ltd. & Unity Bottleshop & Tasting Room
jimmy@unitybrewingco.com
07982 367 051 / 023 8178 2627
ABOUT UNITY BREWING CO:
Unity launched in 2016, producing over 3,000 pints of modern craft beer per week – on sale in local and national bars, restaurants and bottle shops, as well as at the brewery’s webshop and on-site taproom in Northam, Southampton.
Its approach combined innovation and creativity with a focus on people and developing for the future in a spirit of positivity.
Unity collaborated with an array of inspiring breweries, organisations and friends, including Cloudwater, Deya, Duration, Left Handed Giant, Lost & Grounded, Track and Verdant among others.
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Press release from Unity Brewing Co.
For further information, please contact jimmy@unitybrewingco.com 07982 367 051 / 023 8178 2627