Alistair Houghton looks at the Liverpool brewer’s recent history

Aug 2 2008 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

BROTHERS Sudarghara and Ajmail Dusanj took over Cains in a blaze of publicity in July 2002 and pledged to return the brewery to its former glory after years of underinvestment.

They spent several months stabilising the business, announcing 15 redundancies that November but pledging that its future was secure.

They started taking on more staff the following year and planned to take Cains’ pub portfolio to 100 within five years.

From there the company kept winning new contracts for its brewery and securing national supermarket placings for its beers.

In June 2004, Cains announced it was launching its first lager. The beer remains a priority for the Dusanj brothers, who say it fills a gap in the market for a quality British lager. This year it is being sold in bottles with Union Jack labels designed by pop artist Peter Blake.

Its beers have won awards throughout the UK, while its raisin beer was named World’s Best Fruit Beer in the World Beer Awards 2007. Its Finest Lager was voted number two in GQ magazine’s 100 Best Things In The World in 2005.

Cains became an official sponsor of the Capital of Culture celebrations in November 2005 after two years of negotiations.

In May 2005 the company announced the £37m reverse takeover of Preston pubs group Honeycombe Leisure, with an Alternative Investment Market listing.

The deal took Cains on to the Stock Market and extended its portfolio from nine pubs to 109.

But in its first results as a listed company, announced in April, the Dusanj brothers reported a loss of £2.8m for the 14 months to October 2007.