What Aston Manor does

Aston Manor Limited is a privately held UK cider and beverage manufacturer headquartered in Birmingham, operating since 1983 with 101-250 employees across four production and distribution sites: the Group Headquarters and National Distribution Centre in Birmingham, additional Aston-site facilities in Birmingham, a manufacturing site in Tiverton (Devon), and the Stourport Cider Mill on the River Severn in Worcestershire. The company's core business is the manufacture and sale of cider and other beverages to UK retailers via a sales-led, B2B wholesale/distributor model anchored by a national distribution footprint. Its two principal brands are Crumpton Oaks - positioned as a Top 10 UK cider brand made from British apples - and Knights Vintage, a premium bittersweet blend that references Herefordshire's cider-making heritage. The company also produces a broader beverage portfolio including soft drinks distributed through BSDA-affiliated channels.

Aston Manor's operations are vertically integrated upstream through 1,000+ acres of company-managed and contracted orchards (400,000+ trees) supplied under 25-year grower contracts that secure long-term British apple supply. Its Stourport Cider Mill employs an innovative River Severn cooling system that uses river water for vapour condensation during apple pressing, eliminating cooling towers and chemical treatments and earning an international water management award. The company holds the BRC GS 'AA*' food-safety accreditation at production sites and 'AA' at its pressing facility - described in source material as unmatched by any other UK producer.

The company monetises through product sales (hardware_sales revenue model) of branded cider and beverage SKUs at multiple price points into UK retailers; pricing is negotiated through commercial arrangements and is not publicly disclosed. Sustainability and compliance are central to operations: zero-waste-to-landfill status has been achieved ahead of schedule, packaging has been shifted to 51% recycled-content (saving the equivalent of 25 million plastic bottles annually), and reduced PET pack sizes eliminate 43 million units of alcohol from the UK market each year. The company maintains active membership in NACM, Portman Group, drinkaware, BSDA, the UK Plastics Pact (founding member), SEDEX and Stronger Together, reinforcing its responsible-marketing and ethical-supply-chain positioning with UK retailers and regulators.

Name

Aston Manor

Legal name

Aston Manor Limited

Website

https://astonmanor.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Aston Manor is the UK's second-largest cider producer, manufacturing and distributing Crumpton Oaks and Knights Vintage ciders plus other beverages to UK retailers from Birmingham-headquartered facilities in Birmingham, Tiverton and Stourport-on-Severn.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cider and Beverage Manufacturing

NAICS

Wineries (312130), Apple Orchards (111331)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Cider & Perry Producers & Brands (CRADAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cider & Perry Production (AFAFAAAD), Packaging & Production Breweries (Limited/No On-site Service) (THAFALAB)

Keywords

• Cider production
• Beverage manufacturing
• British apple cider
• Drinks distribution
• Cider brands

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Cider and beverage sales: Manufacture and sale of cider and other beverages to retailers and consumers across the UK market. Revenue generated through product sales of branded cider products including Crumpton Oaks and Knights Vintage.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Aston Manor manufactures and sells branded cider and beverages — led by Crumpton Oaks and Knights Vintage — using British apples sourced from its own orchards and long-term grower contracts, distributing the finished products to retailers across the United Kingdom through its Birmingham national distribution centre. The company also produces a broader range of soft drinks and beverages at its Birmingham, Tiverton and Stourport-on-Severn production sites.

Product overview

Aston Manor is a cider-led beverage company operating as the UK's second largest producer of cider. The company offers a portfolio of established cider brands including Crumpton Oaks (a Top 10 UK cider brand made with British apples) and Knights Vintage (a premium cider crafted from bittersweet apples reflecting Herefordshire's cider-making heritage). Beyond cider, the company produces a range of beverages including soft drinks, with operations spanning multiple UK sites from Birmingham to Tiverton.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Crumpton Oaks: Top 10 UK cider brand made with British apples, mighty taste and refreshing
• Knights Vintage

Products and services

• Crumpton Oaks A branded cider made with British apples, positioned as a Top 10 cider brand within the UK cider market. Described as having mighty taste and being mighty refreshing, it is targeted at UK retail consumers through multiple price points and store formats.
• Knights Vintage A premium cider crafted from a blend of the finest bittersweet apples, embodying the expertise that defines Herefordshire's cider-making legacy. Targeted at UK retail consumers seeking a heritage-led bittersweet cider.

Quantifiable outcome

• BRC GS 'AA*' status achieved at production sites - highest standards of accreditation in UK cider industry, with 'AA' status at pressing facility

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Portman GroupcoreOthersMember of Portman Group, the industry body for alcohol beverage companies in the UK, committed to responsible marketing and sales practices.
• drinkawarecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerActive supporter of drinkaware and their campaigns for responsible drinking education and awareness in the UK.
• National Association of Cider Makers (NACM)coreOthersMember of NACM, the trade association representing UK cider makers.
• British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA)coreOthersMember of BSDA, the representative body for the UK soft drinks industry.
• Society of Food Hygiene and Technology (SoFHT)minorOthersMember of SoFHT, professional society for food hygiene and technology.
• SEDEXminorOthersSEDEX (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange) member, demonstrating commitment to ethical supply chain practices.
• Stronger TogetherminorOthersSupporter of Stronger Together initiative to reduce modern slavery and human trafficking in supply chains.
• UK Plastics PactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding member of the UK Plastics Pact, working with other businesses to improve plastic packaging sustainability and reduce plastic waste through the UK Plastics Pact initiative.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• C&C Group (Bulmers / Magners): Owner of Bulmers (the UK's #1 cider brand) and Magners, and the most direct competitor to Aston Manor in mainstream UK cider. Both compete on UK grocery and on-trade listings with similar mainstream-and-premium cider brand portfolios.
• Thatchers Cider: Family-owned Somerset cider producer with a strong UK regional brand and growing national distribution. A close UK craft/mainstream cider peer that competes for grocery listings and on-trade taps in the same category.
• Aspall Cyder (Molson Coors): Suffolk-based premium UK cyder maker now owned by Molson Coors. Direct peer competing in UK premium and mainstream cider, with the additional backing of a global brewer.
• Weston's Cider: Long-established Herefordshire cider producer with a comparable heritage positioning and multi-generational brand assets. Direct category peer competing in UK mainstream and premium cider with similar apple-supply-driven economics.

Broad incumbents

• Heineken UK (Strongbow): Heineken operates Strongbow, one of the UK's leading mainstream cider brands, and brings global brewer scale to UK cider. A broader incumbent that overlaps directly with Aston Manor's mainstream cider positioning but competes across a wider beverage portfolio.
• Molson Coors Beverage Company: Global brewer that owns Aspall Cyder and other UK cider interests. Operates broadly in UK alcohol with overlapping cider exposure; comparable on UK retail buyer relationships and production scale.
• Diageo: Global alcohol major with a UK presence across spirits and some cider-adjacent offerings. A broader incumbent benchmark for UK alcohol retail dynamics, though less of a direct cider competitor than C&C or Heineken.

Others

• British Sugar / NFU Sugar (apple processing partners): Adjacent UK agricultural and beverage ingredient processors relevant as ecosystem participants in British apple and beverage supply chains. Included as an 'Others' category peer reflecting shared input supply dynamics rather than direct cider competition.

Emerging players

• Sheppy's Cider: Somerset-based craft cider maker with own-orchard supply and a heritage positioning similar to Knights Vintage. A smaller, niche peer in the premium/heritage cider segment of the UK market.
• Brothers Cider / Hall's: Smaller UK cider brand with a flavored-fruit cider positioning targeting younger consumers. An emerging peer competing for on-trade taps and impulse SKUs adjacent to Aston Manor's mainstream range.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/aston-manor-cider-and-beverage
• Instagraminstagram.com/crumptonoaksciderco
• Xx.com/astonmanorcider

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aston Manor