Beavertown Brewery bought out by Heineken

London-based Beavertown has become the latest independent craft beer brewer to be taken over by a drinks giant.

Heineken, which took a £40m minority stake in Beavertown in 2018, has now agreed to buy the remaining shares.

Beavertown founder Logan Plant will step down as boss and be replaced by Heineken veteran Jochen Van Esch.

Other UK craft brands to have been bought out include Camden Town and London Fields breweries.

Mr Plant, who is the son of Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, said he began Beavertown in his kitchen 10 years ago, brewing beer in a rice pan. Now the business employs more than 160 people.

Beavertown used the money raised from the 2018 share sale to expand the business, which included building a new brewery in Enfield.

He said the culture of Beavertown, including its branding and "drive to brew the very best tasting beers", will continue.

Mr Van Esch, who has worked for Heineken for 20 years, will become the firm's new managing director, while Mr Plant will have an advisory role.

Mr Van Esch said Beavertown "will not see a huge change because the strategy is right".

"The brand is in growth, it has a fantastic culture and work ethos and people love the beers. We will support, invest in and grow the company, and I am incredibly excited about the future," he said.

After Heineken took its minority stake, Beavertown almost tripled its sales from £12.7m in 2018 to £35.2m in the year to 31 March 2020.

The firm did this mainly by increasing production capacity, but also through a partnership with Tottenham Hotspur football club, where it opened a microbrewery.

The buyout is part of a trend of big drinks firms acquiring craft breweries.

In 2015, AB-Inbev, the world's biggest brewing group, bought the London-based Camden Town Brewery in an £85m deal, and in 2020 it completed its acquisition of the US-based Craft Brew Alliance.

Carlsberg bought the London Fields Brewery in 2017, although it closed the brewery in 2021 and tried to sell the business.