'Banks's holds a special place in the city’s history and heritage,' council says as brewery winds down
Wolverhampton Council has described the winding down of the historic Banks’s Brewery as a “blow” to the city but bosses have stressed a billion pound investment scheme to deliver new homes, offices, leisure and transport offerings will bring new opportunities.
Brewing at the city brewery, which has stood tall against the Wolverhampton skyline since 1875, came to an end at the end of August - with the last staff at the site expected to say farewell on September 30.
Carlsberg Britvic, which owns the brewery, is switching brewing to its other sites in Burton and Northampton. It also plans to move staff out of Marston’s House and the Grimstone Street depot to the new West Midlands Interchange in 2026.
Fans of Banks’s Bitter and Mild have told of their sadness at the loss of the iconic brewery, with Wolverhampton CAMRA saying it was “dismayed by Carlsberg Britvic's decision to end brewing at Banks's, particularly in this anniversary year”.
Carlsberg Britvic, which was previously known as Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company (CMBC) before it acquired Britvic at the start of this year, announced back in October 2024 that the brewery would close this autumn, putting 97 jobs at risk.
