Thornbridge has returned to profit after two loss-making years.
The Derbyshire brewer recorded a profit before tax of £224.8k in the year to 30 June 2025, following a loss of £420.6k in the prior year, newly filed accounts at Companies House showed.
The “continued strength” of Thornbridge’s cask beer portfolio – which includes its flagship IPA Jaipur as well as its Crackendale pale and Cocoa Wonderland porter – was a significant contributor in the return to profit, company director Jim Harrison wrote.
The year was Thornbridge’s most successful for cask production to date, with more than 3.5 million pints of Jaipur brewed for the format, he revealed.
Jaipur is now the ninth best-selling cask beer in Britain [CGA] – a feat Harrison said reflected “strong national distribution and sustained consumer demand”.
“Increased visibility across major national pub and hospitality operators… supported volume growth and further strengthened the brand’s position within the premium cask segment,” he said. “Continued backing from the free trade also played an important role in maintaining accessibility and consistency of supply across a wide range of outlets.”
As a result, turnover at Thornbridge increased by 12.9% to £17.3m over the period.
Gross profit margin, meanwhile, edged up to 37.8% (2024: 37.4%) as the brewer benefitted from “improved sales mix, stabilisation in input costs and continued procurement discipline”.
“Alongside… strong turnover growth, the return to profit also reflects the cumulative impact of the continued focus on cost control and production efficiency,” Harrison said.
Reflecting on the perilous state of the UK brewing and hospitality sectors, Harrison noted a “significant number” of independent breweries had ceased trading in the past year.
Thornbridge had therefore “continued to exercise tight control over administrative expenses and operational overheads” whilst “continuing to invest appropriately in increased production capacity”, he added.
Thornbridge beers are sold in retailers including Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Waitrose.
Last year, off-trade sales declined by 6% to £2.8m, on volumes down 7.9% [NIQ 52 we 19 April 2025].
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