How we helped Wiper and True secure The Taproom in Old Market, Bristol.
Find out how our specialist Real Estate solicitors, led by Partner Richard Roth, helped Wiper and True secure a custom fit-out at their ideal location in central Bristol.
Wiper and True wanted a bespoke brewery with enough space to meet their ever growing demand and anticipated growth, fitted out with custom-engineered, German-designed brew kit with a refrigerated warehouse to ensure their beers taste as nuanced from the bar or can as in tank. True to their goal of reducing their impact on the environment, there was even to be a closed loop system to capture carbon dioxide released during the fermentation process, reducing Wiper and True’s carbon footprint and negative impact on the planet; another passion of theirs.
In Wiper and True’s words, they wanted the “ultimate playground for combining technical and creative excellence”. Here’s how we delivered.
About Wiper and True.
Wiper and True started off as two friends - Michael Wiper and Al True - brewing beer at home, but quickly expanded into brewing more nomadically at local breweries in the Bristol area.
With demand growing, they rapidly moved into their first brewery in St Werburghs, Bristol, squeezing into a tiny industrial warehouse. Despite the small location, and the challenges thrown up by a second-hand brew kit, they continued to go from strength to strength.
A few years into the Wiper and True journey, it was clear that a new fit-for-purpose brewery with room to grow and showcase their passion for beautiful beer was very much needed. An opportunity was found a mile up the road in Old Market, Bristol, to unlock the next stage of Wiper and True’s journey.
How we delivered.
Wiper and True contacted our Real Estate solicitors in December 2020 with terms for the proposed relocation to Old Market. At this point it was largely agreed and with an ambitious timescale.
The brewery premises was on a typical industrial estate and comprised four individual units. It was agreed that the landlord would carry out some significant works to form the units into one unit that Wiper and True could occupy and create their dream.
Some might say that an industrial unit is an industrial unit, but this was to be Wiper and True’s bespoke brewery and long-term base so needed to act as a similarly bespoke property with the required, also bespoke, legal documents. Fortunately our team had the expertise to deliver.
"RWK Goodman supported us by giving us absolute clarity on what the process was going to be, how the legals worked, and supported us through the whole thing by making everything completely clear".
Michael Wiper
Co-Founder, Wiper and True.
Working to a complex timeline.
Timings were critical. The landlord had to complete its works in time for Wiper and True to start its fit out.
Ordinarily, an industrial fit out may comprise some racking and internal works (to create office and staff rooms and so on) but this was different. We were talking about a full brewery production line including fermentation vessels and much more, with some elements being shipped in from abroad on very strict delivery timelines and, of course, allowances for delays. It is not easy to find space to store a brewery fit out elsewhere if the timings don’t work, and with the COVID-19 pandemic raging in the background things had to be pulled off with little room for error.
The documents needed to be bespoke as, whilst this was an industrial estate, in reality it was anything but an industrial unit. There was a state of the art brewing facility, taproom, outdoor beer garden, production line, warehouse and distribution facilities with offices and staff facilities.
There was also the need for some bespoke licences to allow Wiper and True to operate, including a licence from HMRC to brew and store beer at the site along with a premises licence and trade effluent consent. Everything had to come together at the same time to allow Wiper and True to get on with creating their dream brewery and, more importantly, brewing their beautiful beer with as little impact on the environment as possible.
"Wiper and True are an established Bristol brand. We were thrilled to help them and look forward to continuing to do so on their journey".
Richard Roth
Partner, Real Estate.
Finalising the deal.
All in all, this was a bespoke premises needing bespoke documents with flexibility and a drive to match that of Wiper and True. Contracts were exchanged in April 2021 which kicked everything off and the lease was granted in March 2022. This enabled Wiper and True to gain access to undertake its bespoke drainage and flooring works prior to the main fit-out starting in November 2022.
The results are fantastic and RWK Goodman are delighted to have played a small part in the success and growth of Wiper and True. Long may that continue.
