| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1865 |
| Founder(s) | John William Cameron |
| Headquarters | West Hartlepool, United Kingdom |
| Products | Beer |
| Production output | over 1.5 million hectolitres per annum |
| Website | http://www.cameronsbrewery.com/index.php |
Camerons Brewery (JW Cameron & Company Limited) is a brewing company founded in 1865 by John William Cameron in Hartlepool, County Durham.
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The Lion Brewery was founded by William Waldon for its pure water drawn from an artesian well in 1854. This same well supplies the modern brewery today. In 1895 the company went public and owned 50 licensed public houses.[1] This prospered and, by 1907, the share capital of the company was £350,000 with another £350,000 of capital in the form mortgage debenture stock.[2] The business was steadily expanded from 1895 to 1961 with a series of acquisitions in and around North Yorkshire and County Durham:[1]
In 1967 the company had a market capitalization of £6.7 million, or almost £100 million in 2010 prices.[3] The company had 750 licensed public houses in 1974 when it was acquired by the Ellerman Lines which was diversifying from its declining shipping business. Ellerman Lines was then acquired by the Barclay brothers in 1983 who then sold the company to Brent Walker Group plc. In 1985 Cameron's held 5 per cent of the North East of England beer market.[4] In 1989, it controlled 480 licensed public houses and 270 hotels and off-licences.[1] It was bought by Wolverhampton & Dudley in 1992, and then Castle Eden in 2001 who merged the Castle Eden Brewery with Camerons, closing down the Castle Eden plant.[5]
In 2010, the business was ranked highly for its profit growth of 58% over the previous three years. At this time, the brewery had a capacity of 500,000 barrels per annum. The bulk of the production is cask ale but it is expanding its sales of bottled ale for export to Germany and Denmark.[6] The company brews a range of cask and bottled beers, most famously Strongarm, a 4% abv bitter.
The brewery building is called the Lion Brewery, and the company offers tours of the brewery.[7] Camerons Brewery in Hartlepool has two wells, one of them 250 feet deep.[8]
The company sponsored Middlesbrough FC from 1984-86 and Hartlepool United from 1985 to 1990 and 1993 to 2000.[9][10]