North Brewing Co: Leeds residents react to 'incredibly sad' news as brewery files administration notice

The award-winning North, formerly North Brewing Co, said Covid, Brexit and increased costs had hit the business and the wider industry.

The company has filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators and is looking for “additional investment”, the co-founders confirmed on Wednesday. The business is still trading and all North venues are unaffected.

Yorkshire Evening Post readers had their say on the news.

Bridget Ronster Emery said: “Sad this. Hope they get rescued.” Salina Wells added: “Hope they can sort something. This is one of my favourite spots.”

Alleyne Ellis said she was shocked by the news, while Mark Elliot said: “Sadly 2024 will see a lot of businesses failing.”

Simon Pawson commented: “This is really sad. Hope you get the finance! Good guys these.”

North, which has recently rebranded, opened its multi-million pound Springwell site in 2020, allowing the brewery to double its capacity to the equivalent of 2.8 million pints a year.

The brewery was crowned Brewery of the Year 2023 by Brewers Journal, as well as expanding into Europe and saving a much-loved Leeds bar at the end of the year.

Luke Senior said: Luke Senior said: “Doesn’t hugely surprise. A big expansion for them never felt like the right move.”

While Liz Anderson added: “Whatever the reason it’s incredibly sad.”

In a statement released to the Yorkshire Evening Post, North’s co-founders John Gyngell and Christian Townsley confirmed they had filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators.

They added: "We’re currently working with advisors and have recently commenced a process to seek additional investment into our business, which will enable us to push forward with our plans for 2024 and beyond.

“Like the rest of the hospitality and brewing world, over the last four years we’ve endured the turbulence of Covid, Brexit, material cost increases, cost of living crisis and interest rate rises.

“As a result, we’ve been looking for investment and will have news to share in the coming days.

“Due to the commercial nature of the discussions, we can't say more but will keep you updated as soon as we can share further details. All 'North Bar' venues are unaffected by the above”.