Portobello Brewing

What Portobello Brewing does

Portobello Brewing Company LTD is an independent, privately-held craft brewery founded in September 2012 by Rob Jenkins (a 30+ year beer industry veteran) and Farooq Khalid (a brewing and engineering specialist) and operated from a single production site at Unit 6, Mitre Bridge Industrial Estate, London W10 6AU. The brewery produces a year-round core range of session-strength beers — London Pilsner, Westway Pale Ale, Market Porter, Star (British Bitter), Stiff Lip IPA, Polari, Notting Helles, and V.E.S.P.A. — augmented by rotating seasonal specials and a cider (Pavement Press), all available in keg, cask, bottle, can, and Bag in Box formats. Polari, a collaborative pale ale launched in 2021 with LGBTQ+ housing charity Stonewall Housing, donates a fixed per-pint amount to the charity and has become one of the brewery's best-selling SKUs.

The company sells through three channels: a direct-to-consumer e-commerce shop offering free delivery within the M25 and free nationwide delivery on orders over £100; the Portobello Pub Co network of owned pubs providing on-trade retail and brand experience; and wholesale supply to external pubs, bars, restaurants, and clubs across the UK. Pricing is set on a per-unit basis ranging from £22.50 for entry-level SKUs to £65 for larger Bag in Box formats, with a £10 delivery surcharge applied in certain areas. Marketing is concentrated on Instagram, the e-commerce site, and community/charity-led events, supported by Google Analytics for behavioural measurement.

Operationally, Portobello Brewing runs with a 9-person team comprising 3 full-time brewers, 4 sales staff, 2 delivery drivers, an office administrator (Sandra), and a remote head of finance (Darren). The business holds an Alcohol Wholesale Registration Scheme (AWRS) licence, is GDPR-compliant for EU/UK personal data processing, and is structured as a UK private limited company with no disclosed external investors, parent entities, subsidiaries, M&A activity, or funding rounds since inception. The legal entity trades under the names Portobello Brewing and Portobello Brewing Co.

Name

Portobello Brewing

Legal name

Portobello Brewing Company LTD

Website

https://portobellobrewing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Portobello Brewing is an independent West London craft brewery founded in 2012, producing a core range of session beers, seasonal specials, and a cider for UK consumers through DTC e-commerce, its own pub network, and wholesale to licensed premises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Craft Beer Brewing

NAICS

Breweries (312120), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (72241)

SIC

Malt Beverages (2082), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Packaging & Production Breweries (Limited/No On-site Service) (THAFALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Brewpubs & Taprooms (On-site Beer Service) (THAFALAA), Bar & Beverage Service Supplies Wholesale (AFAIALAG)

Keywords

• Craft beer brewing
• Session ales
• Craft brewery
• Cask and keg
• Craft cider

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Beer Sales: Sells beers directly to consumers through their e-commerce platform including keg, cask, bottle, and canned formats. Offers free delivery within M25 on all orders and free nationwide delivery on orders over £100.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Portobello Brewing manufactures and sells a core range of session-strength craft beers and a craft cider (Pavement Press), available in keg, cask, bottle, can, and 18/36 pint bag-in-box formats. Products are sold direct-to-consumers through an e-commerce shop (with free M25 delivery and free nationwide delivery on orders over £100), served through the company's own Portobello Pub Co pubs, and wholesaled to external pubs, bars, restaurants, and clubs across the UK.

Product overview

Portobello Brewing is an independent West London craft brewery producing a portfolio of beers and ciders. Their core offering consists of year-round session-strength beers (London Pilsner, Westway Pale Ale, Star, Market Porter, Stiff Lip IPA, Polari, Notting Helles, and V.E.S.P.A.) available in keg, cask, and packaged formats. They also produce Pavement Press cider and Bag in Box options for events. Polari is a charitable collaborative beer supporting Stonewall Housing. The company operates a direct-to-consumer online shop with delivery within the M25 and nationwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• London Pilsner Classic German-style Pilsner brewed with at least six weeks of cold fermentation, producing a crisp, refreshing beer with herbal complexity. Sold at 4.6% ABV in 330ml cans and bottles, and as part of the core range for direct and trade customers.
• Westway Pale Ale Session pale ale at 4% ABV dry-hopped with British hops for bitterness and US Cascade for fruity, citrus notes. Brewed as a sessionable West London pale ale and available across all formats including bag-in-box.
• Market Porter Premium Porter at 4.6% ABV and a contemporary take on a classic London beer style. Brewed with eight different malts, featuring coffee and chocolate notes with a roasted caramel nose.
• Star British Bitter at 4.3% ABV with a smooth, balanced profile. Built on traditional English hop and malt varieties, with aromas of nuts and winter berries and biscuit and caramel malt notes.
• Stiff Lip IPA West Coast style India Pale Ale at 5% ABV brewed with five American and new-world hop varieties. Features tropical fruit flavours from Simcoe and US Cascade late dry hopping, with a pleasingly bitter finish.
• Polari Collaborative Pale Ale at 4.2% ABV brewed to support LGBTQI+ homeless charity Stonewall Housing. Uses Amarillo, Eldorado and Citra hops for mango, lime and passionfruit flavours. 10p per pint and 5p per 330ml can are donated to the charity.
• Notting Helles Session Lager at 4% ABV brewed to German purity laws with premium noble hop varieties (Sybilla, Lubleski). Crisp, clean and sessionable, designed for everyday drinking, primarily supplied in keg/cask to trade.
• V.E.S.P.A. Very Extra Special Pale Ale at 4.2% ABV with tropical fruit flavours of pineapple and mango from Citra, Mosaic and Cascade hops. Finished with a zingy citrus twist and crisp bitter finish; primarily supplied in keg/cask.
• Pavement Press Craft cider at 5.2% ABV in 500ml bottles. Gently fizzing medium cider with ripe apple aroma, made from five apple varieties: Dabinett, Harry Masters, Three Countries, Yarlington Mill and Ashton Bitter.
• 18 Pint Bag in Box 18 pint bag-in-box filled with fresh cask beer straight from the conditioning tank. Available in Westway Pale Ale, Central Line Red and other seasonal options; targeted at events and home dispense.
• 36 Pint Bag in Box 36 pint bag-in-box filled with fresh cask beer straight from the conditioning tank. Available in Westway Pale Ale, Stiff Lip, Market Porter, APA, Star, Central Line and Home Turf; targeted at events and trade dispense.

Quantifiable outcome

• Polari raised £1915.40 for Stonewall Housing in a single month

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Stonewall HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Collaborative partnership with LGBTQ+ housing charity Stonewall Housing. Polari pale ale is brewed to support their work providing housing support, advice and advocacy to LGBTQI+ community since 1983. 10p from every pint sold is donated to the charity (20p per pint stated on shop page). Alumni from their programme collaborated on beer name, artwork and style.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Kernel Brewery: Bermondsey-based craft brewery known for pale ales, IPAs and IPAs, sold primarily through its own taproom and to specialist UK on-trade accounts. Comparable London craft focus and cask/can/bottle portfolio.
• Brick Brewery: South East London craft brewery operating a taproom in Peckham and supplying pubs and bars across the UK. Comparable in scale, product range, and London-centric GTM.
• Partizan Brewing: South East London craft microbrewery producing a rotating lineup of modern styles, sold through its own taproom and specialist on-trade. Comparable as a similarly-sized London craft operator with strong seasonal focus.
• Hackney Brewery: East London craft brewery producing a range of beers plus a cider, with own taproom and UK distribution. Comparable as a London craft peer with overlapping beer-and-cider portfolio.
• Camden Town Brewery: London-based craft brewery producing a core range of sessionable beers plus seasonal and special releases, distributed across UK pubs, bars and direct to consumers. Directly comparable in product mix, London base, and multi-channel GTM.
• Five Points Brewing: East London craft brewery producing core and seasonal beers, with its own taproom and UK-wide distribution. Highly comparable in product mix, London base, and integrated brewery-plus-taproom model.
• Anspach & Hobday: South London craft brewery operating a taproom in Bermondsey and distributing core and seasonal beers across UK venues. Directly comparable as a similarly-sized London craft producer with a strong on-site venue.
• Beavertown Brewery: London craft brewery (North London) known for flagship IPAs and pale ales, distributed through UK on-trade and off-trade. Comparable in style portfolio, brand-led marketing, and London craft positioning.
• Weird Beard Brew Co. West London/Stanwell craft brewery producing core and seasonal beers distributed to UK pubs and through their own taproom. Comparable as a small London-based craft peer focused on independent UK distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Truman's Brewery: Re-established London heritage brand brewing a core range of session and premium beers, distributed across UK on and off-trade. Comparable London heritage and product mix, but operates at a larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/portobellobrewing
• Xx.com/portobellobeer
• Facebookfacebook.com/PortobelloBeer
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/portobello-brewing-company

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Portobello Brewing