DTI revokes beer orders
Will the removal of the Beer Orders, which heralded the demise of the traditional British brewing companies, make a difference? Not a lot, argues Martyn Cornell, beer market analyst at Martin information, London. The Beer Orders did indeed herald the greatest shake-up in the British brewing industry ever, though whether that is what its framers intended is doubtful. However, all the Beer Orders did, according to one analysis, is rapidly (ie within five to 10 years) bring about a situation that was inevitably going to happen anyway, albeit more slowly. The government bottled out and refused to allow Interbrew to own both Bass and Whitbread, otherwise the UK would have just three national brewers.
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