Lion has sold Magic Rock and Fourpure after it announced the strategy change earlier this year.

Magic Rock Brewing in Huddersfield was acquired in 2019 whilst London’s Fourpure was brought into the portfolio in 2018.

The brewery acquisitions were milestone’s in Kirin-owned Lion’s international expansion plans. It subsequently went on to acquire US breweries Bell’s Brewery and New Belgium Brewing.

It was suggested at the time that some of these brands would be suitable for global rollout, a strategy which it had already modelled on Little Creatures following its 2012 buyout. However, COVID slowed these plans, as did closures of its Little Creatures sites in Hong Kong and Singapore in 2021.

Despite this, Lion continued to strengthen its brand portfolio in Australia with the purchase of Stone & Wood Brewing in September last year.

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Lion has announced the sale of its domestic UK-based operations, including the Magic Rock and Fourpure brands to Odyssey Inns Ltd, effective today.

Following a strategic review, Odyssey represented the right team of UK beer and hospitality industry experts to lead the Fourpure and Magic Rock brands into their next chapters. The sale also includes the breweries and taprooms in London, Huddersfield and Holmfirth and Little Creatures craft beer hospitality venue in Kings Cross, London.

The Odyssey team is led by Stephen Cox. Stephen is an industry leader and brings with him more than 20 years of experience in the world of hospitality and the UK pub sector. He also co-founded Devon’s Utopian Brewing and has worked with, as well as pioneered, a number of brands within the hospitality and drinks sector.

Stephen Cox said: “This is an incredible opportunity to take two exceptional brands, Fourpure and Magic Rock, to the next level. Combined with an excellent hospitality proposition, fantastic people and state of the art breweries, we really have the platform to do great things. We’re excited to get started and get to know the team. We bring bags of energy and enthusiasm, entrepreneurial spirit and strong industry experience, and we hope to bring joy to many more customers with these great beers.”

Lion’s UK Managing Director, Gordon Treanor, said: “Odyssey brings together a great team with a clear passion for brewing and hospitality and is ideally placed to take Magic Rock and Fourpure forward. I’d like to thank our brilliant team for their commitment and dedication, especially over the past two years. With some great sales and brand momentum, the business is well placed for the future ahead, under new ownership.”

The sale will see Lion focus future investment towards its businesses in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, where Lion has made significant craft beer investments and is a leading craft brewer in each market.