I’ll also admit to knocking back a few of its pints, too – it was all the more enjoyable knowing that it had been brewed literally yards from where we drank it. Suffice to say, I returned home laden with Adnams goodies purchased from the wonderful shop it runs in the town – although have switched back to my own local brew since, the Maldon Brewing Company’s Puck’s Folly, brewed less than half a mile from where I live (although if I fancy a lager Adnams’ Dry-Hopped is on tap in the local pub).
In fact, if I could, everything I would buy would be produced locally – as you can probably guess, the only salt ever seen in our kitchen is of the Maldon variety; the only jam from up the road in Tiptree, made by the world-famous Wilkin and Son. There are some things I can’t buy locally, but I’m sure that if I tried a bit harder I could do a lot better than the 60 per cent of food we are said as a nation to produce ourselves – an oft-repeated post-referendum complaint. In fact, if I look around my local area I can buy anything from beautiful fruit and vegetables, to amazing oysters and even champagne to go with them from one of the several vineyards blessed by the Essex sun. I suspect that wherever you go in the country you could find similar local delicacies.
There is an investment angle to this. Firstly, while most small food companies are private, Adnams is not, although with its shares listed on the somewhat illiquid ISDX exchange it’s not easily traded, and, on the face of it, the shares look quite pricey. But it’s a substantial and fantastically run company, generating £4m of profit on turnover of £66m a year at a decent return on assets, and worth picking up when the price is right to hold for the long term.
Like many small producers, Adnams is also an important local employer, something Theresa May might consider as she ponders the UK’s new industrial strategy. Because while we often think of the high-tech industry as the key to the nation’s post-Brexit future, some of our more established sectors – such as agriculture and its processing offshoots – offer huge export potential and deserve more coherent support, too. It’s a thought worth drinking to.
