Fullers' Brewing Co.

Before coming to England, I had visions of quaint little pubs, each with their own unique history and tradition untouched by the rise of the fast food chains dominating the streets around them. I was very surprised to find that this was not necessarily the case. After reading the exact same menu and being offered the same promotional deals at three separate pubs around London, it soon became apparent that these pubs are not entirely independent. While these pubs certainly have their own history, many have been forced to succumb to a franchise in order to stay afloat in the modern economy. I decided to look into the history of Fuller, Smith & Turner, PLC (who own the Blackbird pub near our flat) in order to gain some insight into this phenomenon.

On our way to Bath and Stonehenge last week, we crossed a bridge in Chiswick that overlooked the Fuller Brewery that has been in operation there since the days of Oliver Cromwell over 350 years ago min 1654. The Brewery began under three owners who, when faced with financial issues, entered into a franchise with John Fuller in 1829. Their partnership proved to be rather tumultuous, however, and they dissolved in 1841 leaving Fuller's son the only remaining member. Unable to run the brewery alone, he was joined by Henry Smith and John Turner who both owned smaller breweries (all are pictured here). After acquiring almost forty pubs, the partnership again broke apart in 1929 when they formed a Limited Company.

The mid-1990s brought about the 150th anniversary of Fuller Smith & Turner. At this time, British brewers were beginning to suffer the repercussions of the 1989 Beer Orders Legislation which placed a cap (2,000) on the number of pubs individual brewers were able to own. Despite this regulation, Fuller Smith & Turner was able to maintain its independence due to the fact that over 60 percent of the stock rested with the original founding families. Fullers even managed increase their growth in 2005 when they acquired George Gale & Co Ltd. This merger added 111 pubs to the company, bringing the total to over 360. Today, Fullers Smith & Turner is a publicly traded company in the London Stock Exchange and claims £142.35 million annually in sales.

Although it is somewhat of a letdown when almost half of the pubs you go into have the same menu, it is important to note how well Fullers has tried to maintain the local integrity of their pubs by making them each different in their own ways. Pubs are truly the cultural heart of many areas of London; they are where people come together not just to drink, but to watch football games, share a meal, and just talk with one another. The pub experience is truly a quintessentially English tradition that strongly reflects the politics and culture of the nation.

Source: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Fuller-Smith-amp;-Turner-PLC-Company-History.html