Docks Beers. A grant application for brewery success.
What Docks Beers needed
Axholme Brewing Company has experienced incredible growth since Will and Shahram joined the business in 2016 and the time had come to expand their operations. While the existing production of the brand’s beers, including its flagship Cleethorpes Pale Ale, would continue in North Lincolnshire, the Directors had ambitions for a large brewery in Grimsby. Somewhere that embraced the town’s brewing heritage, dockers community, and future regeneration.
The former St Barnabas Church on King Edward Street had been secured along with planning permission to transform the Edwardian property. It would be a £250,000 investment, with the potential for grant funding. After letting an office space at E-Factor’s Enterprise Village in 2017, the team knew to reach out to E-Factor Business for advice.
How E-Factor helped
Steve Parker is E-Factor’s Business Growth Hub Advisor for Lincolnshire LEP. He assisted Axholme Brewing Company with an application for the Growing the Humber programme, ensuring all business plans, forecasting, and supporting evidence was correct and ready to be submitted. The brewers were awarded £64,000 to be used for the extensive refurbishment of the building and the purchase of specialist brewing equipment.
The Result
Under the brand name of Docks Beers, the brewery began production in August 2018 and opened its taproom doors to the public in October. From this newly converted space, the brewers welcome members of the community, visitors, and craft beer enthusiasts, bringing increasing footfall to an area which is part of the ground-breaking Greater Grimsby Town Deal.
Will said: “E-Factor has proved invaluable to us. Taking that unit at their Enterpirse Village in 2017 has turned out to be one of the most important decisions we made. First, they helped us source the appropriate grant funding and then their input and advice during the application process was key in securing that funding.
The grant enabled us to get a larger brewery then we first envisaged and so E-Factor have played a big role in helping to future proof our business and drive it forward. “I’m pleased to say we have already delivered the jobs that the grant funding required. So, through E-Factor our business has grown and the local economy has been boosted with more employment. What’s not to like? “I urge any SME in North East Lincolnshire with growth plans to have a chat with them. You won’t regret it.”
