68% Micro
25% Small
3% Mid
2% Large
2% Mega
INSIGHTS - APRIL 2025
UK Drinks Industry
UK Drinks Industry Information
The Beverage Industry produces alocoholic and non-alocoholic drinks, including wine, beer, cider, spirits, liqueurs, malts, still & sparkling water, fruit juices, squash, syrups, energy and milk based drinks.
Active Businesses
4,528
Annual Sales
£50bn +
Employees
139,351
Economic Contribution
£44bn
Tags
Location of Drinks Companies
Drinks Companies by Size
Drinks Companies by Age
42% Young
26% Established
20% Startup
12% Mature
0% New
Oldest Drinks Companies
Established
Fastest Growing Drinks Companies
31% Declining
24% Rapid
20% Healthy
17% High
8% Low
Fastest Growing Drinks Companies
3yr CAGR
Asahi Uk Ltd
114%
Drinks Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers
Drinks Industry Valuation
EBITDA Multiple
Drinks Industry Valuation
Turnover Multiple
Drinks Industry Valuation
Net Asset Multiple
Note - from March 2020 multiples are calculated monthly, prior to this they were calculated on an annual basis.
UK Manufacture of beverages Industry Insights
There are 4,528 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of £50 billion .
The Industry employs around 139,350 people and contributes £44 billion to the economy.
The most popular location for Drinks companies is London with 708 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 96.
The largest Drinks company is Coca-cola Europacific Partners Plc with a turnover of £15.6bn. 68% of the industry is comprised of Micro companies with only 3% Mid companies.
12% of the Drinks Industry is made up of 12% Mature but the majority are Young businesses (42%) the oldest company is Diageo Scotland Limited founded in 1877.
Drinks industry has a number of high growth companies (17%), the fastest growing company is Asahi Uk Ltd with a 3 year growth rate of 114%. Other fast growing companies include Cmbc Supply Limited (99%), Purity Soft Drinks Limited (85%) and Joules Brewery Limited (80%).
The UK Drinks Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 9.77x, Turnover multiple of 1.72x and a Net Asset multiple of 2.26x.
