Bristol-headquartered national law firm TLT has advised Somerset cidermaker Brothers Drinks on its acquisition of a high-speed bottling line in its home town of Shepton Mallet from Irish drinks giant C&C Group.
Brothers, launched in 1992 by four sons of the Showering family of Babycham fame, has also bought the land and buildings housing the line, which across the road from the town’s iconic Blackthorn cider mill, itself under threat of closure from C&C.
The bottling line can produce 1.5m bottles a day, offering huge expansion potential for Brothers, which will initially use it for its own cider and some contract bottling business.
The TLT team on the deal was led by development partner Daniel Halstead and included development partner David Smithen and development associate Sarah Hale.
Daniel Halstead said: “This is a strategically important acquisition for Brothers Drinks. It allows our client to expand not only their own production capability but other bottling businesses as well. We are delighted to have assisted Brothers Drinks on this purchase.”
David Smithen added: “This instruction follows a longer term approach of working with Brothers Drinks to identify and assess their needs as their business grows.
“This is another regionally important acquisition for our growing development team and we are well placed to deal with the challenges that can arise on sites of this nature.”
Brothers Drinks’ Daniel Showering praised TLT’s work on the deal. “[It} has once again exceeded our expectations,” he said.
“They continue to provide efficient, accurate and professional advice in which we have absolute confidence. We look forward to working with them again in the future.”
