Keystone Brewing Group, the brewing group behind Black Sheep, Purity Brewing and Magic Rock, has denied it is about to go bust despite filing notice of intent to appoint administrators.
In a statement on social media, Keystone insisted it was still “fighting for the future of great beer”.
“You may have seen headlines or rumours suggesting that Keystone Brewing Group has gone into administration,” it said. “Let us be clear: that is not the case. We have filed a notice of intent to appoint an administrator which is a protective measure that allows us to keep trading as normal while we secure new investment or explore a potential sale.
“It gives us the breathing space we need to protect our people, our brands, and our customers. We’re still brewing. We’re still delivering. We’re still here.”
A notice of intent to appoint an administrator is a formal legal document filed by a company or its directors to signal their intent to enter administration.
Despite offering a 10-day-business moratorium preventing creditors from pursuing legal action, an NOI was not designed as a protective measure for businesses, a senior restructuring source told The Grocer.
“An NOI is not a protective measure,” they said. “You only file an NOI where there is a settled intention to appoint an administrator. A byproduct of it is you get protection from creditor action. Using it solely for protection from action is an abuse of process.”
Keystone Brewing Group was itself formed after private investment group Breal purchased several breweries out of or on the verge of administration between 2023 and early this year.
Many of these breweries had themselves filed NOIs before ultimately being acquired by Keystone, often leaving unsecured creditors out of pocket.
Unsecured creditors of Brew By Numbers, for example, faced a shortfall of more than £1m after the business was sold in a pre-pack administration to Keystone in August 2023.
When Fourpure was placed into administration in October 2024, meanwhile, administrators said unsecured creditors owed more than £3.7m were also unlikely to see a return.
Fourpure was initially sold to In Good Company, before eventually ending up in Keystone’s hands just a few months later.
In Good Company’s director Steve Cox was subsequently appointed CEO of Keystone Brewing Group in March.
Keystone has been approached for further comment.
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