Damm opens ‘state-of-the-art’ Eagle Brewery and solidifies plans for a sustainable future
Spain’s Damm Brewery has followed its initial investment of £70 million in its UK headquarters with a plan to “reach a production capacity of 1.8 million hectolitres” and “become the largest independent beer and total beverages company in the UK”.
The declarations were made yesterday, when Damm officially-opened the “Damm Eagle Brewery” in Bedford. The site was acquired from Carlsberg Marstons Brewing Company (CMBC) in 2022 and had formerly served as Charles Wells Brewery before Wells had sold it to Marstons in 2017. Now refurbished, Damm noted it stands as testament to the company’s ethos for sustainability.
Speaking at the opening, Damm CEO Jorge Villavecchia said: “We have transformed this brewery into a state-of-the-art facility following an initial investment of £70 million. But this is really only the beginning because, as we all know, factories are living things, and we have to continue investing to keep the quality, as well as to adapt to the market which is constantly moving.”
Sustainability and diversification
Echoing this, Damm UK managing director Luke White explained: “Sustainability sits at the heart of what we’re doing. The choice to acquire this site rather than building an entire new brewery from scratch, to refurbish it, to re-equip it. It was all made with an eye on doing things responsibly. Energy use, waste, local impacts. We are committed to doing things in the right way.”
The site, which will also see Damm not just brewing but extending its production capabilities to include soft drinks as well, has seen the business already expand to offer more jobs across the local community.
Villavecchia said: “As a company that traces back 150 years, which we will celebrate next year, we continue brewing under the same original recipe” and noted: “We know what it means to grow and evolve while staying true to our origins. “We have a clear commitment towards quality and innovation, and we have already doubled the packaging capacity. We have introduced new formats. We have diversified production into other beverages like soft drinks as well. We intend to reach a production capacity of 1.8 million hectolitres.”
Investing in communities and people
He added: “This expansion means new opportunities and we have already tripled the number of people working with us. When we inherited the plant, we basically put a new marketing and distribution system alongside the factory, and we will continue recruiting talent, which is absolutely our key goal”.
Sharing Damm’s aim for the business, Villavecchia admitted: “The goal is really to become the largest independent beer and total beverages company in the UK. Independent [to us] means independent and family-owned” and revealed: “For us, this is more than an inauguration. It is a reaffirmation of our identity as a company that grows by investing, innovating and staying close to the communities we are a part of.”
White additionally explained how “the investment, for us, is a statement from our business on supporting long-term sustainable brewing and establishing a footprint here in the UK” and re-emphasised how Damm’s “plan is to become the number one independent total beverage company in the UK”.
Describing the expansion and how the company was humbled by everyone who had played a role in the renewal of the space, White highlighted how “since January, there has been a conveyor belt of shiny new toys for our production team coming through the gates and into our brewery that will allow our brewers and production team to begin crafting some amazing beer and soft drinks.Over the last three months, there’s been a visual transformation as well, with our UK headquarters and brewery also being completely transformed, a real effort by all of our suppliers and teams across Spain.”
He pointed out how “in the UK, it’s not only been a visual transformation, though, it’s also been one of performance transformation” and noted how “the UK is the second biggest market for Estrella Damm outside our native of Spain, and the love for our mother brand is growing, a clear indicator of why we chose to start a home here.”
New national listings and partnerships
White revealed: “In the off-trade, at the end of last year, we celebrated 12 consecutive periods of share growth with Damm being the second fastest-growing brewer in the UK and the number one fastest- growing independent brewer, as well as ranking number one for growth on shelf. In the on-trade, in collaboration with our partners in the independent free trade and our national business, we’re up nearly 50% versus last year and we are pleased to announce a new national listing with Marstons, which will see Estrella Damm roll out across their total estate.”
He also unveiled how Damm’s “contract manufacturing arm, while it may be small, is becoming mighty” and hinted: “We will deliver nearly 100,000 hectolitres of growth by the end of this year. In conjunction, that has no mean feat, and it’s why we make up nearly 30% of the international business at Damm.”
According to White, Damm is “set for a record year in 2025” but still has “a lot to look forward to, and a lot of business on the table, which makes us feel bright about 2026”. Why? He responded: “We are investing, we are innovating, and most-importantly, we are listening to our partners and customers and finding new partnerships”.
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As a way to respond to what it now knows, White admitted that “the launch of the Damm Eagle Brewery has been central to that” but insisted: “This site though is more than just a production capability – it’s a foundation to build on.”
A part of brewing history
According to White, the business has a busy year ahead of it, but a lot to celebrate. He observed how “next year, we celebrate our 150th anniversary. But next year is also special for this site. 2026 will also be the 50th anniversary of brewing in this facility, started by our former partners and first distributor, Charles Wells, another fellow family-owned independent business.”
Tipping his hat to the brewery’s history, White highlighted how “the knowledge from the many employees that we took on as part of the purchase has been fundamental in getting where we are today. We have a long history with this site. Under Charles Wells, we’ve been kegging and packaging here for a long time”. But, he added: “Now it’s about unlocking the full potential of this site. Doubling our capacity isn’t just a target, it’s what we are building towards.”
Shining a spotlight on the local community and also the way Damm plans to support the UK economy and its workforce, White explained: “With increased volume comes increased shifts. With increased shifts comes increasing jobs, roles here in the brewery, in operations, across functions, many of these will be filled by local people, and providing an opportunity for the local community is absolutely integral to our business.”
Also attending the opening, Ceri Morgan, His Majesty’s trade commissioner for Europe, said: “The UK is very proud to host Damm’s first brewery outside the Iberian Peninsula here in Bedford. Damm brings a century and a half of brewing heritage and over £70 million of investment that supports industrial modernisation. Your plans represent a strong commitment to sustainability and innovation that will deliver benefits for the East of England region. It was great to witness some of these first hand on the tour, including the state of the art canning line. It moves so fast. It’s fantastic to see, as well as the new soft drink making facilities as well. It was also great to hear about the work Damm is going to be doing to invest in the Bedfordshire community, from the partnerships with local universities to involvement with local football clubs, another shared passion between our great nations.”
Spain is a ‘vital partner’ to the UK
Morgan highlighted how “Spain is a vital partner. The UK and Spain agri-food trade is worth almost £5 billion” and revealed: “This government wants an even closer partnership beyond that with Spain and the EU. We will unlock growth by reducing red tape with the EU to deliver real benefits for businesses like Damm. For example, we plan to cut costs for industry by linking the UK and the EU carbon markets and exploring joining the EU’s electricity trading platforms.”
Morgan added: “As our seventh largest trading partner, with the trade overall worth over £65 billion, we truly value our relationship with Spain, as demonstrated when the UK and the Spanish Prime Ministers met in London in September to sign a new bilateral framework that has economic growth at its core, the great reception in Number 10 of Spanish and UK businesses spoke volumes about how much pride we have in the relationship. The UK is the second-largest destination for Spanish investment globally, foreign investment is vital to our economic growth, and we’re committed to making the UK the best place to do business.”
Morgan assured: “This government will provide long-term certainty to grow the advanced manufacturing sector, allowing you to build resilience with reduced industrial electricity costs and strengthen supply chains to scale up innovation and automation with increased deployment of state of the art technologies, industrial robotics, AI and the internet. But also to develop a dynamic and digitally-literate workforce with a new generation of tech adopters.”
Innovation and working together
White also highlighted that, as a company, Damm has taken note of needing to stay agile in an ever-ecolving marketplace, where consumer trends lead to new opportunities. He insisted: “This facility also allows us to innovate. Something that is in our very DNA as a business, and not in just beer, but beyond beer too. Because consumers change. The world changes, and what people want evolves, be it low and no, new flavours, greater transparency, health and wellbeing. We listen and we need to adapt. “The results of our launches of Damm Lemon and Estrella 00, are testament to listening to consumer needs.”
Pinning colours to the mast, White also added how Damm intended to help other smaller businesses find their way to market by serving as an “incubator hub” for launching new products. He stated: “We are going to go one step further with innovation, as we are proud to announce that the UK will become our global hub for beyond beer innovation for our international business, which will see the UK launch a first of its kind ‘incubator hub’ and for fledgling drinks brands with a promise where they can draw upon our knowledge and expertise to support their small businesses in a mutually beneficial way and meet the constantly evolving needs of consumers.”
According to Damm’s philosophy, White insisted: “What drives us isn’t just about sales growth or innovation, though it’s something emotive and it’s about the people, community and relationships. We recognise that we need to also support those in the wider community around us, and we’re already in discussions with the likes of the University of Bedford on a broader partnership about how we can collaborate on research, as well as offering students career prospect opportunities.”
He added: “We want to be a bigger part of Bedford’s story. By supporting local sports clubs and ordinary partnerships the likes of Bedford Blues and Bedford Town FC. This site is one of the original homes of Bedford Town Football Club. And in terms of the Bedford Blues, we’ve actually employed one of their players as part of a broader project. This is in line with the fields of sport community that Damm operates in Spain. This is because sport fosters a real sense of community, exactly the same as hospitality and we will look to replicate this here in Bedford.”
Beer unites us all
Closing his statements, White reminded everyone that Damm was a company with genuine values and said: “This is just the start for us. Corporate responsibility isn’t just a checkbox for us. We want to replicate the great work that we are doing with the Damm Foundation in Spain by supporting people, supporting communities, charities, creating a sense of belonging and wellbeing. And we will follow in the footsteps of the Damm Foundation by organising similar projects here. For us, our work is much more than just producing and selling good beer, but we’re also a company that wants to care and foster a sense of belonging and togetherness.”
According to White: “Beer in our sector is truly something that we should not take for granted. I think you’ll all agree, the UK, arguably has the greatest pub culture in the world, one that is woven into the very fabric and DNA of the culture and history of our country. Beer is a wonderful product. It unites, whether it’s friends in the pub, families over a celebration, workmates celebrating the win, workmates commiserating a loss, business deals being discussed, or even just strangers over a shared, common goal. We will continue to provide beer to meet those occasions and connections. Looking ahead, we’re looking at more production, more innovation, more inclusivity in our portfolio, both in flavour and in consumption occasions, but also more investment in Bedford, not just in the brewery, but also the people in the infrastructure around us, and more partnerships with pub owners, with customers, with local suppliers and with the government because growth happens when we all grow together.”
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