Business history of Heineken

The brewery that would later become Heineken N.V was founded in 1592 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. De Hooiberg (The Haystack) brewery was purchased by Gerard Adriaan Heineken the age 22, who dedicated his life to provide the best beer quality on the market. Adriaan Heineken produced the first beer under the Heineken brand name in 1863.

Nine years later Heineken’s Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij N.V was founded, which today known as Heineken.

On October 1, 1914, Henry Pierre Heineken became a director of HBM, and three years later he was appointed chairman, Henry Pierre Heineken, who held doctorate in chemistry, managed the company from 1917 to 1940 an continued his involvement with the company until 1951.

The company grew steadily and in 1931 they embarked upon their first international operation, joint venture with Malaysia Breweries Limited in Singapore. The brand prospered, penetrating export markets including the United States - where it was the first foreign beer to be allowed an import license at the end of Prohibition in 1933.
Business history of Heineken

The creation of Charrington United Breweries

Charrington United Breweries was the creation of Edward Plunket Taylor. Taylor had built up Canadian Breweries by a series of mergers between 1934 and 1954 to a dominant position in Quebec and Ontario. Aiming to enter the European market with his leading brand, Carling lager, he formed a trading agreement in 1953 with the Hope and Anchor brewery of Sheffield.

In 1960 Taylor combine Hope and Anchor with Scottish lager brewer, John Jeffery and Co., of Edinburgh and Hammonds United Breweries and these three were reborn as Northern Breweries before name changes to United Breweries. Taylor rapidly built up United Breweries into a group with 2,800 pubs within two years.

In 1962, United Breweries merged with London brewers, Charrington, the company being then was known as Charrington United Breweries.

Charrington United Breweries Ltd was registered as a limited liability company to undertake the merger of Charrington & Co Ltd and United Breweries Ltd by an exchange of shares.

In 1963, this company bought J. and R. Tennent, the Glasgow lager brewers, a move that heralded the birth of Tennent Caledonia, the largest lager brewers in Scotland.

The company also acquired Offilers’ Brewery Ltd, and Dunmow Brewery Ltd, in 1965: and Massey’s Burnley Brewery Ltd in 1966.

To complete the merry-go-round, Charrington United Breweries merged with Bass, Mitchells and Butlers in 1967, to give the huge combine Bass Charrington. It created Britain’s largest brewing group, Bass Charrington with 10,230 pubs.
The creation of Charrington United Breweries