SABMILLER PLC - SABMiller to enter UK craft beer market with acquisition of Meantime Brewing Company

SABMiller to enter UK craft beer market with acquisition of Meantime Brewing Company

SABMiller plc
JSEALPHA CODE: SAB
ISIN CODE: SOSAB
ISIN CODE: GB0004835483


15 May 2015

SABMiller to enter UK craft beer market with acquisition of Meantime Brewing
Company

SABMiller is to become the new owner of London-based modern craft brewer Meantime Brewing
Company (“Meantime”).

Meantime is a pioneer in British modern craft beer, giving SABMiller an entry point into the fastest-
growing segment of the UK beer market and complementing its imported super-premium lagers such
as Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell.

SABMiller plans to grow sales of Meantime’s beers nationally and explore export opportunities in its
European markets under the continued leadership of Nick Miller, Meantime CEO.

Meantime was established by Brew Master, Alastair Hook, in 1999 with a brewery in Greenwich,
London. The business has since created a successful range of British and international beer styles.

Sue Clark, Managing Director, SABMiller Europe, said: “Meantime has been at the forefront of the
modern craft beer movement in the UK and brews an outstanding range of beers across a variety of
styles. At SABMiller we love local variety, and carefully nurture our 200 local and heritage beers.
Meantime, born in a city with a rich beer heritage, will be a special new addition to the SABMiller
family.

“Nick Miller, Alastair Hook and their team have built a strong sense of pride and identity within
Meantime, which has an excellent reputation for brewing consistently high quality beers and for
industry-leading innovation. This expertise will boost our strategy to develop beers that appeal to
more people, including women, and which can be attractive alternatives to wine and spirits.”

Nick Miller, CEO, Meantime, said: “I can say from personal experience, that SABMiller is a great
company to be joining forces with. They see the opportunity, and believe in the longevity, of modern
craft beer in the UK.

“SABMiller shares our passion for putting great beer first, and making, selling and marketing it
responsibly to beer aficionados worldwide. The team at SABMiller have stressed how important our
culture is to our success to date, and have a strong track record in retaining the special identities and
heritage of the local businesses they’ve bought in the past.

“We are all excited about the opportunity to continue growing Meantime. We are also thrilled and
flattered that SABMiller has given us a remit to innovate. This is a massive compliment and
acknowledges our position as pioneers in modern craft beer.”

Volumes of beer sales at Meantime grew by 58% in 2014, outpacing the UK beer market’s 1% growth
during the same period and making it one of the top-performing modern craft breweries in the UK.

Among Meantime’s award-winning lagers and ales are its leading brand London Pale Ale, London
Lager, Yakima Red, Pilsner, India Pale Ale and London Porter. London Pale Ale and London Lager
together account for around 70% of total volumes. Following the transaction, Meantime will open a
pilot brewery which will become a centre for SABMiller’s European innovation and new product
development.
The acquisition includes Meantime’s retail sites, including the Tasting Rooms and the brewery shop in
Greenwich, the Greenwich Union pub, pop-up Beerbox pub, and the Brewery Fresh tank beer
concept, which is now in 26 pubs across London, complementing SABMiller’s Pilsner Urquell
unpasteurised tank beer in a further four London pubs.

The acquisition is expected to complete in early June 2015 and Meantime will be incorporated into
SABMiller Europe’s accounts. The financial terms of the transaction are confidential.

ENDS



Notes to editors
SABMiller plc

SABMiller plc is in the beer and soft drinks business. We are the world’s second largest brewing
company and are one of the world’s largest bottlers of Coca-Cola drinks. We also produce a portfolio
of wholly-owned soft drinks brands.

We are a FTSE-20 company, with shares trading on the London Stock Exchange, and we have a
secondary listing on the Johannesburg stock exchange. We operate in more than 80 countries with
around 70,000 employees.

Our brand portfolio includes leading local brands such as Aguila (Colombia), Castle (South Africa),
Miller Lite (USA), Snow (China), Victoria Bitter (Australia) and Tyskie (Poland) as well as global
brands such as Pilsner Urquell, Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Miller Genuine Draft and Grolsch. Every
minute of every day, more than 140,000 bottles of SABMiller beer are sold.

In the year ended 31 March 2015, we sold 324 million hectolitres of lager, soft drinks and other
alcoholic beverages, generating group net producer revenue of US$26,288 million and EBITA of
US$6,367 million.

Meantime

Meantime Brewery was founded in Greenwich fifteen years ago. The brewer is now one of the UK's
largest modern craft brewers and still continues to make its beers in the same way, having built a
state-of-the-art brewery in 2010. There are 10 bottled beers in Meantime's core bottled range: London
Lager, London Pale Ale, Pilsner, Yakima Red, IPA, London Porter, Chocolate Porter, Wheat beer,
Raspberry Wheat and London Stout. The brand also packages its London Lager, London Pale Ale,
London Stout, Meantime Wheat, Yakima Red and Pilsner on draught. Meantime is now stocked in
over 900 on-trade outlets as well as Waitrose, Sainsbury's and M&S.

This announcement is available on the company website: www.sabmiller.com

Further information is also available on:

www.sabmiller.com

www.facebook.com/sabmiller

www.twitter.com/sabmiller

www.youtube.com/sabmiller


Enquiries
SABMiller plc        Richard                Christina Mills   Gary Leibowitz
                     Farnsworth             Director,         Director, Investor
t: +44 20 7659 0100   Business Media        Communications        Engagement
                      Relations Manager     and Reputation        SABMiller plc
                      SABMiller plc         SABMiller plc
                      t: +44 7734 776 317   t: +44 7825 275 605   t: +44 20 7659 0119



Sponsor: J.P. Morgan Equities South Africa (Pty) Ltd

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