Editing Boddingtons Brewery (section)

==History==

===1778–1969===
[[File:Strangeways Brewery chimney.jpg|thumb|upright|Strangeways Brewery before its demolition in 2007]]
[[Strangeways Brewery]] was founded in 1778 by two-grain merchants, '''Thomas Caister''' and '''Thomas Fry''',<ref>{{cite web|title=Boddingtons Bitter Pump Head|url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8413657/boddingtons-bitter-pump-head-pump-head|publisher=Science Museum Group}}</ref> just north of what is now [[Manchester city centre]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.quaffale.org.uk/php/brewery/533 |title=Directory of UK real Ale Breweries |publisher=Quaffale.org.uk |access-date=22 October 2011}}</ref> Their principal customers were the cotton workers of Manchester, then a burgeoning [[mill town]].<ref name="BBC 200 years">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/image_galleries/boddingtons_strangeways_gallery.shtml |title=Boddies: 200 years of beers |publisher=BBC |date=October 2004 |access-date=22 October 2011}}</ref>

'''Henry Boddington''', born in 1813 in [[Thame]], [[Oxfordshire]], joined the brewery in 1832 as a travelling salesman when the brewery was in the possession of Hole, Potter and Harrison.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boddington-family.org.uk/hist-henry_boddington_life.pdf |title=Record of Life of Henry Boddington |publisher=Boddington-family.org.uk |access-date=22 October 2011}}</ref><ref name="oxforddnb.com">{{cite ODNB |first=R. G. |last=Wilson |title=Boddington, Henry (1813–1886) |date=Oct 2007  |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/96881 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/96881, |access-date=12 May 2011 |format={{Subscription or membership required}}}}</ref> Like most Manchester breweries at the time, it was a modestly sized operation. Boddington had become a partner by 1848, alongside John and James Harrison, and by this time the company went under the name John Harrison & Co.<ref name=gazette>{{cite news|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/21404/pages/185/page.pdf|title=Page 185 {{!}} Issue 21404, 21 January 1853 {{!}} London Gazette {{!}} The Gazette|access-date=4 September 2013|newspaper=London Gazette}}</ref>

In January 1853, Boddington borrowed money to become its sole owner.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxonblueplaques.org.uk/plaques/boddington.html |title=Blue Plaque to Henry Boddington in Thame |publisher=oxonblueplaques.org.uk |date=4 November 2010 |access-date=22 October 2011}}</ref><ref name="google1"/> Between Boddington's takeover until 1877, the brewery's output increased tenfold from 10,000 to 100,000 [[Barrel#Sizes|barrels]] a year, making it not only Manchester's largest brewery but one of the largest in the [[North of England]], with over 100 [[tied house]]s. By 1883 Henry Boddington & Co. was a [[limited liability company]]. Henry Boddington's estate was valued at almost £150,000 when he died in 1886.<ref name="oxforddnb.com" /><ref name="google1"/>

After Henry Boddington's death, his son, William Slater Boddington became company chairman, and the company went [[public company|public]] in 1888 when it was estimated to have assets of £320,465.<ref name="oxforddnb.com" /><ref>{{cite news| title= The beer trade: Boddingtons and the act| work= The Manchester Guardian| date= 23 February 1906| page= 4}}</ref> It was now known as Boddingtons Breweries Ltd.

Its major local competitors were [[James Grimble Groves|Groves and Whitnall]], [[Threlfalls Brewery|Threlfalls]], and the Manchester Brewing Company.<ref name="oxforddnb.com" /> The company owned 212 [[public house]]s by 1892, making it the twelfth largest [[tied house|tied estate]] in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite book| title= History of beer and brewing| last= Hornsey| first= Ian Spencer| series= RSC paperbacks| volume= 34| location= Cambridge| publisher= Royal Society of Chemistry| year= 2003| isbn= 978-1-84755-002-6| page= 571}}</ref> The tied estate was mostly [[freehold (law)|freehold]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Brewers' Guardian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcY9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA76|year=1891|publisher=Northwood Publications|page=76}}</ref>

Boddingtons was one of the breweries implicated in the [[1900 English beer poisoning]] epidemic, in which 6,000 people were poisoned by arsenic and 70 died.<ref name="Dyer">{{cite journal |title=The 1900 arsenic poisoning epidemic |journal=Brewing History |year=2009 |last=Dyer |first=Peter |volume=130 |pages=65–85 |url=http://www.breweryhistory.com/journal/archive/130/Arsenic.pdf |access-date=2018-01-31 }}</ref>

In January 1902, 86 percent of production was of [[mild ale]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/mild-dominates-manchester.html?m=1|title=Mild dominates Manchester|website=barclayperkins.blogspot.co.uk|date=2017-07-06}}</ref>

Following the death of W. Slater Boddington in 1908, the family retained an interest in the company and continued to take a practical hand in its running.<ref name="oxforddnb.com"/> Henry's youngest son, Robert Slater Boddington (1862–1930) had a fifty-year association with the company and oversaw the installation of a bottling hall in the 1920s.<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite web|url=http://www.angelfire.com/pr/perfinsoc/abstracts/2345.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529181834/http://www.angelfire.com/pr/perfinsoc/abstracts/2345.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 May 2014|title=HISTORY OF FIRMS USING PERFINS : BODDINGTONS of MANCHESTER|website=Angelfire.com|access-date=22 January 2022}}</ref>

Robert's third and fourth sons Philip (1893–1952) and Charles (1897–1982) served as joint chairman following the death of their father in 1930, and Charles took sole responsibility after Philip died.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boddington-family.org.uk/ps02/ps02_222.htm |title=Boddington family; Person record |publisher=Boddington-family.org.uk |access-date=22 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910234202/http://www.boddington-family.org.uk/ps02/ps02_222.htm |archive-date=10 September 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boddington-family.org.uk/ps02/ps02_157.htm |title=Boddington family; Person record |publisher=Boddington-family.org.uk |access-date=22 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324010600/http://www.boddington-family.org.uk/ps02/ps02_157.htm |archive-date=24 March 2012 }}</ref>

By the 1930s, the Boddington family shareholding had dwindled to around 40 per cent.<ref>{{cite book| title= The Oxford companion to beer| editor-first= Garrett| editor-last= Oliver| location= Oxford| publisher=  Oxford University Press| year= 2012| isbn= 978-0-19-536713-3| page= 139}}</ref> On 22 December 1940, the brewery [[water tank]]s were hit by bombs during the [[Manchester Blitz]], and the brewery had to be closed down for several months, with production moved temporarily to the nearby [[Hydes Brewery]].<ref>{{cite book| title= British breweries : an architectural history| first= Lynn| last= Pearson| location= London| publisher= Hambledon Press| year= 1999| isbn= 978-1-85285-191-0| page= 133}}</ref><ref>[http://merseyale.co.uk/assets/applets/05_03_Spring05.pdf] {{dead link|date=November 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The brewery was rebuilt with the most up-to-date and modern equipment of the time, and was the first in Europe to install [[stainless steel]] brewing vats.<ref name=autogenerated5>{{cite news| title= Battle of the beers| last= Greenhalgh| first= Alec| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 7 February 1970| page= 11}}</ref>

[[Pale ale]] or "bitter" rapidly grew in popularity after the [[Second World War]] and overtook mild in sales from the 1950s.<ref name="barclayperkins5">{{cite web |last1=Pattinson |first1=Ron |title=Boddington - from Mild to Bitter |url=http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2020/05/boddington-from-mild-to-bitter.html |website=Shut Up About Barclay Perkins |date=24 May 2020 |access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref>

Whitbread, a large brewery, took a 13 per cent stake in the company in 1961.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news| title= Support for Boddingtons'| last= Leach| first= Cyril| work=The Guardian | location= London | date=18 February 1970| page= 13}}</ref> In 1962 the company purchased Richard Clarke & Co of [[Reddish]], [[Stockport]], adding 60 public houses to the firm.<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NB8NAQAAIAAJ&q=boddingtons&pg=PA75| title= The Brewing industry : a guide to historical records|  editor1-first= Lesley| editor1-last= Richmond| editor2-first= Alison| editor2-last= Turton| series= Studies in British business archives| location= Manchester| publisher= Manchester University Press| isbn= 978-0-7190-3032-1| year = 1990| pages= 75–6| access-date= 2013-05-14}}</ref>

===Mergers and acquisitions===
In 1969 the large [[Allied Breweries]] combine initiated a [[hostile takeover]] bid for Boddingtons, which valued the company at £5&nbsp;million.<ref name=autogenerated5 /> Charles Boddington took the unusual step of issuing a spirited defence of the company to the shareholders: <blockquote>You will be only too aware that present-day pressures bear heavily towards the elimination of individuality and character in many consumer goods. There is an inexorable progression towards the mass-produced nationwide product of standardised quality. You, however, are still, at this moment in time, a shareholder in one of the remaining independent brewery companies whose traditional draught beers have a reputation for quality and individual character beyond the immediate area of the North of England in which we operate&nbsp;... The takeover of Boddingtons and its consequent elimination can achieve very little. It will do nothing for the national economy, add nothing to the nation's exports, and contribute nothing at all to the quality of life that we are all used to enjoy.<ref name=autogenerated5 /></blockquote>

The company's independence was maintained after Whitbread acted as a [[white knight (business)|white knight]] by raising its stake in the company from 13 to 23 per cent, and the family and many small shareholders refused to sell their stakes.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> The chairman of Whitbread, Colonel Whitbread, is reputed to have said, "You are a very old firm. You have a very good name. You mustn't go out."<ref>{{cite book| title= Strategic and organizational change : from production to retailing in UK brewing 1950–1990| first= Alistair| last= Mutch| series= Routledge studies in business organization and networks| location= London; New York| publisher= Routledge| year= 2006| isbn= 978-0-415-36050-0| page= 126}}</ref> At the time, it was rare for a company to win the emotional argument for independence, and it was the first time a regional brewery had headed off an offer from a national company.<ref name=autogenerated9>{{cite news| title= The small beer versus the brewers| last= Jones| first= David| work= The Observer| location= London| date= 9 June 1974| page= 15}}</ref> In 1970, Charles Boddington retired and his son Ewart assumed the directorship.<ref name=autogenerated5 />

In 1971, Allied Breweries sold its 35 per cent stake in the company, leaving Whitbread 25 per cent and the Boddington family 10 per cent, with the remainder of company shares held by small shareholders in the Manchester area.<ref>{{cite news| title= Reward for aid in bid battle| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 24 February 1971| page= 14}}</ref> That year [[Guinness Draught]] [[stout]] and [[Heineken]] lager were introduced into the tied estate.<ref>{{cite news| title= City comment| work=  The Guardian| location= London| date= 25 February 1972| page= 19}}</ref> During the 1970s the company operated within a 70-mile radius of Manchester, and growth was driven by the increasing popularity of its main product, Boddingtons Bitter.<ref name=autogenerated9 /><ref>{{cite news| title= Brewer confident of record| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 17 November 1973| page= 15}}</ref> ''[[The Observer]]'' commented in 1974 that Boddingtons cheap pricing and distinctive flavour afforded it an unusually loyal following.<ref name=autogenerated9 /> In 1981 the same newspaper commented, <blockquote>what has stood Boddingtons in good stead is the highly distinctive flavour of its brews, especially its bitters. In fact, in the North-West, Boddies is increasingly becoming a sort of cult brew.<ref>{{cite news| title= The toast is Boddingtons'| work= The Observer| location= London| date= 13 September 1981| page= 17}}</ref></blockquote>

In 1982, Boddingtons bought the [[Oldham Brewery]] for £23&nbsp;million, hoping to combine Oldham's strength in lager and keg bitter with their own expertise in cask ales.<ref name="The Times, Sept 1982, p9">{{cite news |newspaper=The Times| location=London| date=18 September 1982 |title=Boddingtons' lifts dividend |page=9}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title= Oldham aids brewer's results| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 18 September 1982| page= 19}}</ref> After the acquisition, the company owned 272 [[public houses]], 70 per cent of which were within 20 miles of its Manchester brewery.<ref name="The Times, Sept 1982, p9"/> In 1983, Boddingtons Bitter was distributed in the [[Home Counties]] for the first time.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.huntscamra2.org.uk/download/ot136.pdf |title=A Look Back in Time : 25 Years Ago |quotation=Boddingtons Bitter came south after the Manchester real ale went on sale for the first time in pubs in the Home Counties and railway station bars, where it replaced Ruddles County |website= |access-date=22 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302044856/http://www.huntscamra2.org.uk/download/ot136.pdf |archive-date=2 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1985 Boddingtons paid £27.5&nbsp;million for the 160,000 barrel capacity [[Higsons Brewery]] in [[Liverpool]] and its tied estate of 160 public houses to form a combine with a £65&nbsp;million turnover.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite news| title= Boddingtons' beer mug runneth over|work= The Observer| location= London| date= 6 July 1986| page= 40}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title= Boddington calls time on its breweries| last= Laurance| first= Ben| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 29 September 1989| page= 12}}</ref><ref>{{ cite news| title= Buoyant brewer| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 21 March 1986| page= 25}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' commented that the company had paid mere asset value for Higsons as the company had been reporting poor profits.<ref>{{ cite news| title= A heady brew from Boddington| work= The Observer| location= London| date= 20 October 1985| page= 32}}</ref> There was virtually no overlap between the two companies, and the takeover brought Boddingtons to [[Merseyside]] for the first time.<ref>{{cite book|title=Investors Chronicle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h8EgAQAAMAAJ|year=1986|publisher=Throgmorton Publications|page=55}}</ref> By this time Strangeways was producing only two beers, a bitter and a mild, with bitter constituting over 90 per cent of production.<ref name=autogenerated8>{{cite web|url=http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2012/03/quiz-solution.html|title=Shut up about Barclay Perkins: Quiz solution|date=8 March 2012|access-date=8 March 2012|archive-date=8 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308161010/http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2012/03/quiz-solution.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1986, the company employed 280 people and operated 530 [[tied house]]s, and while Strangeways Brewery had a capacity of 500,000 barrels a year, it was operating at around 50 per cent capacity.<ref name="google1"/><ref name=autogenerated4 /> That year the company introduced its own [[lager]], brewing [[König Ludwig Schlossbrauerei|Kaltenberg]] under licence.<ref name=autogenerated2 /><ref>{{cite news| title= Boddington braces up for Bavarian-style brew| last= Gibbs| first= Geoffrey| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 9 September 1986| page= 24}}</ref>

In 1987, the company rejected a £270&nbsp;million [[reverse takeover]] bid by Midsummer Leisure.<ref>{{cite news| title= Midsummer drops Boddington offer| first= Peter| last= Rodgers| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 16 October 1987| page= 23}}</ref> By this time Boddingtons had a tied estate of 520 pubs.<ref>{{cite book|title=Investors Chronicle|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2r4gAQAAMAAJ|year=1987|publisher=Throgmorton Publications|page=123}}</ref> In 1988, the company closed the Oldham Brewery with the loss of 70 jobs, and shed 140 transport jobs at Higsons and Strangeways by contracting out delivery work to [[Thomas Nationwide Transport|TNT]].<ref>{{cite news| title= Brewer plans to shed 200 jobs| last= Gibbs| first= Geoffrey| work= The Guardian| location= London| date= 9 January 1988| page= 19}}</ref>

Boddingtons remained independent until 1989, when Ewart Boddington sold Strangeways Brewery and the Boddingtons brand (but not the tied estate) to [[Whitbread]] for £50.7 million.<ref name="barrymcqueen1">{{cite web|url=http://www.barrymcqueen.co.uk/Boddingtons.htm|title=Untitled Document|website=Barrymcqueen.co.uk|access-date=18 April 2011|archive-date=23 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623191225/http://barrymcqueen.co.uk/Boddingtons.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Whitbread was motivated to plug a gap in its portfolio by owning a credible national cask ale brand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huntscamra.org.uk/download/ot069.pdf |title=Hunts CAMRA Newsletter, Issue No. 69 |access-date=6 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402114239/http://www.huntscamra.org.uk/download/ot069.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2012 }}</ref> The sale was amicable, with both parties aware that Whitbread capital and distribution could make the Boddingtons brand national, although some Boddington family board members had been resistant to the sale.<ref name="BBC 200 years" /> Boddingtons had been in decline before the Whitbread takeover, and although it retained an almost "cult" following within its Manchester heartland, only 5 per cent of sales were outside the North West.<ref name="managementtoday.co.uk">{{cite news|url=http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/412588/MT-INTERVIEW-Miles-Templeman/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH |title=The MT Interview: Miles Templeman |work= Management Today |date=1 October 2003 |access-date=22 October 2011| first= Chris| last= Blackhurst}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite news|last=Oxford|first=Esther|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/creamheaded-smoothie-conquers-south-1509859.html |title=Cream-headed smoothie conquers south |date=10 October 1993 |access-date=6 June 2012|location=London|work=The Independent}}</ref>

===Whitbread era===
[[File:Strangeways Brewery, Manchester - geograph.org.uk - 42603.jpg|thumb|Another view of Strangeways Brewery]]
Whitbread transformed the brand from regional to national, expanding production from 200,000 to 850,000 barrels a year between 1989 and 1995.<ref name="DreamOfJob">{{cite news |title=Dream of a Job for the Cream of Whitbread |newspaper=Evening Standard |date=6 November 1995| last= Levi| first= Jim}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title= Do Creative Commercials Sell?: Leo Burnett's Donald Gunn got so sick of the 'do award-winning ads shift product' debate that he decided to do some number crunching to settle the matter and nail the misconceptions once and for all| journal= Campaign| date= 22 September 1995}}</ref> By 1993 the cask version was outsold only by [[Tetley Bitter|Tetley]] and [[John Smith's Brewery|John Smith's]], and the majority of sales were outside of the North West.<ref name=autogenerated3 /> By 1994 it was the fourth-highest selling bitter brand in the country.<ref>{{cite news| title= The Hunt for a Classic| work= Financial Times| date= 27 October 1994| page= 15}}</ref> The canned variant was distributed nationwide from 1990 and was the highest-selling canned bitter in the UK from 1992 until 2000.<ref>{{cite news| work= The Grocer| date= 25 November 1989| page= 32| title= Boddies joins Whitbread in the New Year| publisher= William Reed}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| work= The Herald| date= 19 May 1992| title= Whitbread's profits plunge 24% to £222m| page= 17}}</ref> The beer was officially exported overseas from 1993, initially to Canada.<ref name=autogenerated4 /> The rise in sales of the beer coincided with the elevation of Manchester from "city of dark, beaten mills to the cultural magnet of [[Madchester]]".<ref name="managementtoday.co.uk"/> Manchester and the North of England were now fashionable in the public consciousness and rejuvenated from industrial slump. Whitbread chief executive Peter Jarvis commented in 1995 that:<ref name="DreamOfJob" />

{{blockquote|It was very fortuitous that the brewery was in Manchester. To outsiders, Manchester is a very attractive place&nbsp;– known the world over for soccer, art, music and broadcasting. It would be difficult to have a Cream of Wolverhampton even though [[Banks's beer]] is very good. People do not aspire to visit Wolverhampton. On the whole they try to by-pass it.}}

Success was attributed to an excellent marketing campaign, and being the first canned ale to be sold with a [[Widget (beer)|widget]] after Guinness.<ref name="managementtoday.co.uk"/> In 1997 Boddingtons sales peaked, and 1998 saw a drop in sales of 10&nbsp;per cent.<ref>{{cite news| first= Ian| last= Darby| url= http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/60209/ |title= New Whitbread role for Gilliland | work= Brandrepublic.com |date= 19 November 1998 |access-date= 6 June 2012}}</ref> Boddingtons had been turned into: "a fashion product&nbsp;... and as with all fashion products, the drinkers moved on".<ref>{{cite news| title= The cream of Durham| last= Protz| first= Roger| work= The Guardian| date= 21 November 1998| page= C85}}</ref> In 1998 production of the [[Edward Fordham Flower|Flowers]] ale brands was moved to Strangeways.<ref>{{cite news| work= Gloucestershire Echo| date= 18 April 1998| title= Ales in danger after closure| page= 8}}</ref> Boddingtons' share of the UK ale market grew to 4.9 per cent in 1998–1999, and sales grew by 7.3 percent during 1999–2000.<ref name=whitan99>{{cite book|title=Annual Report|year=1999|publisher=Whitbread|url=http://miranda.hemscott.com/ir/wtb/pdf/Whitbread_Annual_Report_9899.pdf|access-date=4 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033232/http://miranda.hemscott.com/ir/wtb/pdf/Whitbread_Annual_Report_9899.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=salter>{{cite news|last=Salter|first=Alan|title=Whitbread set for new round of NW spending|newspaper=Manchester Evening News|date=5 May 2000}}</ref>

Meanwhile, in 1995 the independent owner of the 450-strong former Boddingtons tied estate, The Boddington Group, was taken over by [[Greenalls]].

===Interbrew takeover===
In May 2000 the Whitbread Beer Company was acquired by the Belgian brewer [[Interbrew]], which owned [[Stella Artois]]. At that time over ten percent of Boddingtons production was exported to some 40 countries worldwide, including China, the United States, Taiwan and the West Indies.<ref>{{cite news |title=Howard Takes The Cream of Manchester To Sales Record in His Singapore Bar |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date= 29 August 2000| last= Broster| first= Paul}}</ref> The Strangeways Brewery kegging facility closed in February 2003 with the loss of 50 jobs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fmcg/interbrews-man-u-turn/81536.article |title=Interbrew's Man U-turn |work=The Grocer |date=9 November 2002 |access-date=6 June 2012| publisher= William Reed}}</ref> In August 2003, amidst falling sales, Interbrew relaunched the cask product in the North West of England, with an increased strength.<ref name="Boddingtons plans revamp">{{cite news|first=Melanie |last=Godsell |date=28 March 2007 |url=http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/646250/ |title=Boddingtons plans revamp |work=Marketing Magazine| publisher= Haymarket Business Publications| access-date=7 May 2011 |page=10}}</ref> The relaunch was unsuccessful and the changes were reversed.

In September 2004 the owners (now known as [[InBev]]) announced plans to close the Strangeways Brewery and move most production from Manchester to [[Magor, Monmouthshire|Magor]] in [[South Wales]] and [[Samlesbury]], [[Lancashire]], with the loss of 60 jobs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3469/is_38_55/ai_n11842120 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070110230603/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3469/is_38_55/ai_n11842120 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 January 2007 |title=InBev to close Boddington's |publisher=Modern Brewery Age |date=20 September 2004 |access-date=22 October 2011 }}</ref> Two years earlier the brewery had employed 250 people.<ref name=autogenerated6>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2002/sep/10/3|title=Boddington's Strangeways brewery loses 68 jobs in Interbrew shake-up|work=The Guardian|date=10 September 2002|last=Wainwright|first=Martin|location=London}}</ref> Boddingtons [[cask ale]] production, which accounted for less than 10 per cent of output, was moved to Hydes Brewery in [[Moss Side]].<ref name = "Guardian bury">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2004/sep/10/9|title=Boddies buries Mancunian past|work=The Guardian|date=10 September 2004|last=Wainwright|first=Martin|location=London}}</ref> The closure plan was made despite the company admitting the brewery was profitable but the brewery site had become a valuable property asset and was subsequently sold for £12 million to developers.<ref name="Hall 2004">{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a7f4de4a-287d-11d9-9308-00000e2511c8.html#axzz1MApmbmFg |title=Manchester united in battle over Boddingtons |newspaper= Financial Times |first=William |last=Hall |date=28 October 2004 |access-date=22 October 2011| location= London}}</ref><ref name="Guardian bury"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1011244_chimney_survives_rubble_and_strife_ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130420232247/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1011244_chimney_survives_rubble_and_strife_ |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 April 2013 |title=Chimney survives rubble and strife |work=Manchester Evening News |date=13 July 2007 |last=Taylor |first=Paul R |publisher=M.E.N. Media }}</ref> A spokesman for the firm argued: "[The] building was built in the [[Victorian era|Victorian times]] and it is an old historic brewery but it was a victim of its age. It is an inflexible brewery&nbsp;– it can't bottle or can and customer needs have moved on".<ref>{{cite news|last=Snowdon |first=Neal |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/145/145099_boddingtons_bitter_end.html |title=Boddingtons' bitter end |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=4 February 2005 |access-date=22 October 2011 |publisher=M.E.N. Media |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323033514/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/145/145099_boddingtons_bitter_end.html |archive-date=23 March 2012 }}</ref>
Production ended in February 2005 and the brewery was demolished in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=The bitter end for Boddies |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=16 March 2007 |access-date=22 October 2011 |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1002/1002100_the_bitter_end_for_boddies.html |last=Rooth |first=Ben |publisher=M.E.N. Media |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323033458/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1002/1002100_the_bitter_end_for_boddies.html |archive-date=23 March 2012 }}</ref> ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek]]'' described the move by InBev as "unsentimental".<ref>{{cite news|last=Leonard|first=Devin|title=The Plot to Destroy America's Beer|url=http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/78040-the-plot-to-destroy-americas-beer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812050508/http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/78040-the-plot-to-destroy-americas-beer|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 August 2014|access-date=27 October 2012|newspaper=Bloomberg Businessweek|date=25 October 2012}}</ref>

In May 2010 it was speculated in ''[[The Times]]'' that InBev ([[Anheuser-Busch InBev]] from 2008 onwards) would attempt to sell the Boddingtons brand to another brewer after its failed attempt to sell the UK rights to [[Bass ale]].<ref name="business.timesonline.co.uk">{{cite news| url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article7136607.ece | location=London | newspaper=The Times | first=Dominic | last=Walsh | title=Buyer sought for beer that Britain forgot | date=26 May 2010}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The newspaper was damning of what it perceived as InBev's mismanagement of the brand, which had "declined under AB InBev's hands. The brand was once a leading part of the old Whitbread Beer Company, but its fortunes had dwindled since the closure in 2005 of the Strangeways Brewery."<ref name="business.timesonline.co.uk"/>

In 2010 Boddingtons was the sixth-highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom, although sales had dropped by almost three-quarters since the takeover by [[Anheuser–Busch InBev]] in 2000.<ref>Alcoholic Drinks: Euromonitor from trade sources/national statistics, 2011</ref> In July 2011 AB InBev's UK president Stuart MacFarlane claimed "We still believe in the brand" whilst admitting to not advertising the brand for five years, instead reaping the rewards of memories of earlier advertising.<ref>{{cite news| work= The Grocer| date= 16 July 2011| page= 34| publisher= William Reed| title= top 51–60}}</ref> Contract brewing of Boddingtons Cask continued until March 2012 when production of the beer ended.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northwestcaterer.co.uk/2012/01/19/hydes-hails-a-very-satisfactory-year/ |title=Hydes hails a 'very satisfactory' year |work=North West Caterer |date=19 January 2012 |access-date=6 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707214920/http://www.northwestcaterer.co.uk/2012/01/19/hydes-hails-a-very-satisfactory-year/ |archive-date=7 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Production was around 250,000 hectolitres in 2012, with around 80 percent of production destined for the UK market, and around 20 percent for export markets such as [[Taiwan]], [[Singapore]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]].<ref name=autogenerated7 />