The story
The company was formed in 1981 by four former employees of Ansells, after Ansells closed its Aston Cross brewery. A new brewery was opened in nearby Thimble Mill Lane. In 1984, Herefordshire hop farmer Michael Hancocks, one of the company's suppliers, bought into the business. By 1998, Aston Manor was reporting profits of over £1million, with 70% of its sales being cider. Because of a slump in the market and strong competition, by 2001 profits had fallen to £740,500, but by 2009 had risen to over £3 million, due to a large rise in demand in the UK. In 2009 the company took over the Devon Cider Company, based in Tiverton, Devon and has expanded the manufacturing facilities on that site.
In spring 2013 the company planted 1,000 acres of new orchards, using 350,000 trees, on sites in Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
In the autumn of 2013, a new fruit processing and pressing facility was added in Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire.
In July 2014 the company moved to a new head office and logistics facility adjacent to the M6 motorway at Witton in Birmingham.
In August 2018 Aston Manor cider was acquired by French co-operative Agrial.
From Wikipedia’s article on Aston Manor Cider, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4