Brewery founders hand control of business to staff
Brewery founders hand control of business to staff
Holly Nichols - Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and BuckinghamshireFri, October 16, 2026 at 5:03 AM UTC
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Mark Gloyens (left) and Tim Coombes (right) established the Rebellion Beer Company in 1993Management of the Rebellion Beer Company has moved to workers through an Employee Ownership Trust.
The founders of a brewery have handed over control of the business to employees in an attempt to secure its future.
The Rebellion Beer Company, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, which supplies chef Tom Kerridge's restaurants, has transferred the books to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT), which means the brewery will be managed by its staff.
Founders Tim Coombes and Mark Gloyens made the decision amid growing uncertainty in the brewing industry, following recent closures and threats of closure elsewhere in the sector.
Gloyens said he was "really pleased" that the future of the business would be "safe in Marlow for years to come".
Tom Kerridge has a long-standing partnership with the Rebellion Beer Company
Kerridge said the Rebellion Beer Company had "always been a people first company".
He described the transfer as "heartwarming and exciting for the company" and added: "Long may Rebellion continue and flourish."
Under an EOT, the staff at the brewery will benefit from greater job security and a share of the company profits.
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Coombes and Gloyens said they would continue to be involved in the business "over the next few years" while the new management team "made up of existing long-term employees" start to take over the running of the brewery.
The Rebellion Beer Company is based on Bencombe Farm in Marlow
The company was founded in 1993 and currently employs about 75 staff members, brewing 87,000 pints of beer every week.
More than 95% of the beer it produces is sold within a 30-mile radius of Marlow.
Coombes and Gloyens said they founded the company 33 years ago because they wanted to re-establish the town's brewing tradition, after the closure of the 200-year-old Wethered's Brewery in 1987.
The business partners explained that the transfer would "safeguard the future of the brewery in its current location on Bencombe Farm for years to come".
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Rebellion Beer Co.
Source: “AOL Money”
