CIMC Enric acquires UK’s renowned Briggs Group Ltd.

On June 3, 2016, CIMC Enric wholly purchased Briggs, a 276-year-old famous beer equipment company in Britain, at £23 million (approx. RMB 218 million). This acquisition will make Briggs the world’s third most famous liquid food equipment brand after Holvrieka and Ziemann under CIMC Enric and diversify CIMC’s product and service portfolios from beer brewing equipment into liquid food processing equipment like liquor distilling.

Briggs began its operations in 1740 and has a history of 276 years. It has its headquarter and plant in Birmingham and sets up sales outlet in New York. Currently, Briggs has 136 employees and a sound operation. It reported sales revenue of £24 million and net profit of £3.6 million (15%) in 2015.

Briggs provides engineering design service and some key equipment for brewing, distilling, pharmaceutical, yeast and bio-fuel industries, and it mainly focuses on providing engineering design and equipment manufacturing for whiskey distilling system, which accounts for 44% of its operating revenue. Briggs enjoys an outstanding reputation in this area and plays a leading role in the UK market. In addition, Briggs has century-long experience and skills in other areas. It owns the largest grain distilling system in Europe and the largest active dry yeast system in the world. Furthermore, Briggs has also built all the largest breweries in the last three decades in America. Briggs has developed the world’s earliest 2nd generation of skid-mounted equipment making ethanol out of wood fiber.

The acquisition will enable CIMC Enric to expand non-brewing equipment business in the field of liquid food equipment, share Briggs’ brand, technology, performance and talent in non-brewing industries (distilling, yeast) and step up efforts to build capability in non-brewing equipment sector. Following the acquisition, Briggs will collaborate with CIMC Enric’s existing EPC and accelerate global market expansion. Briggs’ operating revenue and income are expected to double in the next five years.