Black Sheep Brewery has announced several redundancies at its head offices in Masham.

In a statement, released over the weekend, the brewery made the announcement, while also saying that three of its pubs in Yorkshire would close with immediate effect.

A spokesperson for the business said: “Having recently conducted an extensive review of our business, we have explored every angle to try to keep these locations trading profitably, but without success.

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“Unfortunately, the only avenue left for us was the closure of these premises. It is always the last resort for us to make redundancies, and we are saddened to see such dedicated colleagues leaving us, at this time.”

The statement comes after Breal Capital bought the brewery for £5 million in May as part of a pre-package administration deal.

Teneo Financial Advisory, which was appointed as administrators of Black Sheep, revealed sales fell from £19 million in 2019 to £14 million last year for the brewery, which resulted in a £1.6 million loss.

The move also left creditors, including HMRC and suppliers, owed nearly £3 million, with administrators adding that the brewery had "suffered during the covid pandemic and trading challenges continued as a result of the current economic environment”.