What has happened to Belhaven Group? The EPIC BHG does not bring up live price data any more.

My local beer! Bought by Greene King ..

May be of interest...

Beer group Greene King royal flush with 23% rise

GREENE King, the beer and pubs group which bought Belhaven earlier this year, today turned in a record set of half-year results, with pre-tax profit up 23 per cent at 55.8 million.

The firm said performance had been helped by recent acquisitions, which also included the purchase of the Laurel pub chain and brewer Ridley's.
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Greene King, whose beer brands include IPA, Abbot Ale and Old Speckled Hen, also said sales were up by 19 per cent to 360m in the 24 weeks to October 16.

Today's results include only two weeks' contribution from Belhaven, which it bought in August for 187m. But chief executive Rooney Anand said the integration and synergy savings from the Dunbar-based group were "on track".

"Together, we predict these synergies to total approximately 3m in 2006/7, rising to approximately 5m over the next two years."

Mr Anand said Bury St Edmunds-based Greene King had been "greatly impressed" by the quality of the Belhaven management under the leadership of Stuart Ross and the management in both Scotland and England were "working very well together".

Belhaven had been trading strongly over its first-half to October 2, Mr Anand said, and had recorded a trading profit (adjusted for Greene King accounting policies) of 11.3m - up ten per cent. Overall beer volumes were up seven per cent and volume sales of its flagship Belhaven Best were up eight per cent.

Commenting on the performance over the interim period, Mr Anand said: "This is another strong set of results with all of our divisions."

Across its divisions, Greene King saw trading profit at its pub company (managed houses) arm rise by 26 per cent to 50.3m. At the pub partners arm, trading profit rose 22 per cent to 29m, with profit per pub up by nine per cent. And at its brewing company division, profit increased by eighteen per cent to 9.9m.

Greene King proposed an 11 per cent increase in its interim profit to 5.8 pence.

Thanks jj Looks interesting