Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2016 Winners Edition

www.finance-monthly.com UK Finance Monthly CFO Awards 2016 Firm Profile Brains is Wales’ most famous drink. It is the toast of a nation. Still owned by the descendants of the founders that took over a fledgling brewery in a small stone building behind a Cardiff pub in 1882, you can now find the Brains name above the door of over 200 pubs, bars and hotels across Wales and the West of England. Brewed at The Cardiff Brewery, Brains’ award-winning beers are now widely available across Wales and can increasingly be found throughout the rest of Britain in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Morrisons, as well as in pubs all over the country as guest ales. The pub estate has expanded rapidly up to 2010 and nearly every pub now offers a good range of quality food. And if you are looking for somewhere to stay, entertain or celebrate, many Brains pubs now offer bedrooms and function rooms. The business was expanded through the acquisition of drinks distribution businesses and pubs becoming a Welsh brand operating in the whole of Wales and near England. Following the sale of the Free Trade business to Heineken in 2009 and a subsequent restructure focusing more on the retail operations, Brains acquired Coffee#1. The chain of high street coffee shops has been expanded from the original 15 in 2011 to 70 in 2016 with a geographic coverage from Aberystwyth to Portsmouth. Brains has always had close links with Welsh sport. A trip to Cardiff Arms Park or the Millennium Stadium to watch the famous red jerseys of Wales is not complete without a pint of Brains SA. For six years the family name was emblazoned across the national rugby team’s chests, during which Wales famously won two Grand Slams in the RBS 6 Nations. Today Brains is the official ale of the WRU. As well as sponsoring the Welsh Rugby Union, Brains is also the official beer of the Football Association of Wales. The company is proud of its independence and the way that it has evolved over its colourful history. Contact Details Martin Reed CFO at SA Brain and Company Ltd. Tel: 02920 40 20 60 Email: Martin.Reed@sabrain.com Web: www.sabrain.com Martin Reed CFO at SA Brain and Company Ltd. About Martin Reed Martin joined the Welsh brewer and pub owner/operator as Finance Director in 2002 at a time when the business was looking to modernise its retail operations and reinvigorate the brand. During his time a number of businesses have been bought and some subsequently sold to Heineken in 2009. Business acquisitions included a number of regional wholesalers, pub companies and in 2011 Coffee#1 Ltd which comprised 15 shops when purchased. As well as Group Finance he is responsible for IT, Business Support which includes maintenance of the pubs, Group Purchasing and the Company’s Health and Safety policies and operation throughout the business. He was born and educated in Derbyshire, obtaining his ACCA qualification in 1985. The first part of his career was spent in the accounting profession before joining The Boots Group in Nottingham, working for Boots Opticians, Halfords and Do It All both based in the West Midlands. In 1997 he left Boots to become Finance Director of AIS a retail buying group purchasing goods from all over the world for independent retail businesses throughout the UK. Martin is Chair of the regional breweries Brewfit group. He is also Treasurer to the industry body the Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB) and a Non Executive Director of the Welsh Whisky Company which produces Penderyn Whisky and Brecon Gin. 30