as lse gnk industry alcoholic beverage founded 1799 headquarters bury st edmunds england key people tim bridge chairman rooney anand ceo products beer revenue 1 315.3 million 2015 1 operating income 256.2 million 2015 1 profit 89.3 million 2015 1 website www.greeneking.co.uk greene king is the uk s largest pub retailer and brewer . 2 it is based in bury st edmunds suffolk england . the company owns pubs restaurants and hotels . it is listed on the london stock exchange and is a constituent of the ftse 250 index . contents 1 history 2 operations 3 visitor centre 4 criticism 5 beers 5.1 greene king 5.2 hardy s and hansons 5.3 morland 5.4 ridley s 5.5 ruddles 5.6 trader joe s 6 references 7 external links history edit greene king plaque on the side of a pub in sudbury suffolk the brewery was founded by benjamin greene in bury st. edmunds in 1799 . 3 in 1806 benjamin greene established a new venture with william buck at the westgate brewery . 4 in 1836 edward greene took over the business and in 1887 it merged with frederick william king s brewing business to create greene king . 5 greene king has grown via mergers and acquisitions including rayments brewery 1961 6 the magic pub company 1996 7 hungry horse 1996 8 morland brewery 1999 9 old english inns 2001 10 morrells 2002 11 a large part of the laurel pub company 2004 12 ridley s brewery 2005 13 belhaven brewery 2005 14 hardys and hansons 2006 15 the loch fyne fish restaurant chain 2007 16 cloverleaf 2011 17 realpubs 2011 18 the capital pub company 2011 19 and the spirit pub company 2015 . 20 operations edit the greene king brewery in bury st edmunds produces beers branded in the names of breweries now closed including morland old speckled hen ruddles hardys & hanson and tolly cobbold . the belhaven brewery in dunbar continues to operate in scotland . 21 22 the group operates 3 100 pubs restaurants and hotels 23 its retail division is split between its destination pubs and restaurants with brands including hungry horse loch fyne and metropolitan pub company and its local pubs . 3 its strategy is to open further retail outlets . 24 its pub partners division has leased tenanted and franchised pubs . 3 its strategy is to reduce the numbers of these outlets . 24 visitor centre edit greene king s brewery museum shown in 2006 the greene king main brewery seen from westgate street . there is a visitor centre next to the brewery and tours are run regularly throughout the week . the brewery has an exhibition of pub sign artwork by george taylor who designed over 250 such signs for greene king pubs . 25 visitors can also go on regular hour long tours of the brewery to see traditional brewing methods . all brewery tours end with a beer tasting session at the greene king brewery tap . 26 criticism edit main article lewes arms controversy greene king s ongoing business expansion has sometimes been the subject of criticism . as a result of its active acquisition policy it has come to be known by beer protesters as greedy king . 27 the british consumer group camra claimed that greene king is in danger of becoming a monopoly by buying out other breweries and thus potentially limiting choice for the pub consumer . 28 the growing consumer reaction to this shift was demonstrated towards the end of 2006 when a pub in lewes east sussex started a well publicised protest against greene king for removing the locally produced harveys sussex best bitter from sale while continuing to sell other guest beers . 29 in january 2014 popular manchester pub the lass o gowrie voted best pub in britain at the great british pub awards in 2012 30 closed after landlord gareth kavanagh was forced out in an argument over rent . having lost 40 % of their trade after the bbc moved to salford kavanagh had won a rent reduction at an independent tribunal before being forced out by the brewery . 31 greene king has also been criticised for removing many traditional and historic pub signs as part of rebranding schemes . 32 beers edit greene king edit abbot ale abbot ale a premium bitter 5.0 % abv first brewed in the 1950s . 33 the ingredients are pale crystal and amber malts ; with first gold challenger and fuggles hops the fuggles being late hopped . 34 35 in 2007 abbot reserve 6.5 % abv was introduced as a winter special in the cask with year round availability in the bottle . 36 greene king ipa a cask bitter 3.6 % abv served in pubs and cans available from supermarkets and off licences nationally . it is made using challenger and english first gold hops . 37 greene king ipa controversially won the gold award at the 2004 campaign for real ale camra great british beer festival in the bitter category and runner up in the champion beer of britain category . 38 ipa export a stronger cask bitter 5.0 % abv ipa available from off licenses in bottles also made using challenger and english first gold hops . 37 olde suffolk strong suffolk vintage a strong old ale 6 % abv that is a blend of two ales one being aged in oak for two years . it is available in bottles . 39 st edmunds a crisp golden ale 4.2 % abv recently released . it is available in both bottles and cask nationally . 40 greene king xx mild 3 % abv . a dark mild ale available on cask . black and crystal malts northdown hops . 41 hardy s and hansons edit olde trip a 4.3 % premium ale . named in honour of the nottingham inn ye olde trip to jerusalem which claims to be the oldest inn in britain . as of september 2007 this was for sale in the brewery museum in 500ml bottles . 42 morland edit can of old speckled hen old speckled hen is a popular bitter available both as a cask ale and pasteurised in bottles . first brewed in 1979 by morland brewery in abingdon oxfordshire to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the mg car company setting up in abingdon and named after the mg factory s mg car the paint splattered owld speckled un . brewed since 1999 by greene king . greene king has retained the strain of yeast first used in 1896 . old golden hen has received a coveted monde selection award at the 2012 world quality selections . by receiving this award the old golden hen became the third and final member of the old speckled hen family to win a monde selection quality award . 43 in 2008 greene king released a vintage oaked super premium version of old speckled hen named old crafty hen 6.5 % . 44 hen s tooth a 6.5 % bottle conditioned beer . 45 tanners jack abv 4.4 % regularly seen across the country as a guest beer often found in wetherspoons like many greene king beers . also available in 500ml bottle . 46 morland original abv 4.0 % not seen as much as it was but often pops up in the old morland heartlands . also available in 500ml bottle . 47 ridley s edit old bob still popular in essex despite the beer s new journey from bury st edmunds ; it is 5.1 % and available both on cask and bottled . 48 ruddles edit ruddles county ruddles county a 4.7 % bitter available on cask nationally and pasteurised in bottles in most british supermarkets . 49 ruddles best bitter a 3.7 % session bitter with national distribution . 50 ruddles orchard this 4.2 % cask bitter consists of ruddles county with the addition of apple concentrate . also available pasteurised in bottles . 51 trader joe s edit the king s english a 6.0 % export ipa . 52 in march 2016 greene king won best managed pub company 51 sites at the 2016 publican awards . 53 greene king s chief executive rooney anand also won business of the year award at the publican awards 2016 . 54 references edit a b c annual report 2015 pdf . greene king . retrieved 9 april 2016 . ftse giants line up to tempt school leavers with apprentice jobs . telegraph.co.uk . 2016 03 14 . retrieved 2016 03 22 . a b c smyth rob 2014 11 06 . business a close look at greene king s takeover of spirit pub company . burton mail . retrieved 2015 03 28 . benjamin greene . oxford dictionary of national biography . retrieved 26 february 2016 . mp of the month edward greene brewer and businessman . victorian commons . 26 february 2016 . retrieved 26 february 2016 . greene king how a regional brewer became a national pub chain . east anglian times . 19 november 2014 . retrieved 26 february 2016 . greene king to buy magic pub in britain . the new york times . 1996 06 19 . retrieved 2015 03 28 . roger protz 2013 09 18 . rooney anand greene king . morningadvertiser.co.uk . retrieved 2015 03 28 . jill treanor . morland brewery under threat as greene king resurrects bid for rival business . the guardian . retrieved 2015 03 28 . greene king starts old english examination . m & c allegra . 29 september 2001 . retrieved 26 february 2016 . subscription required uk brewer buys pub chain for 67m . bbc news . 2002 06 18 . retrieved 2015 02 11 . greene king in 654m pubs buy . this is money . 2004 07 09 . retrieved 2015 03 28 . uk historic brewer ridley s to close . bbc news . 2005 07 04 . retrieved 2015 03 28 . business greene king taking over belhaven . bbc news . 2005 08 22 . retrieved 2015 03 28 . katie allen . greene king buys hardys & hansons business . the guardian . retrieved 2015 03 28 . business greene king buys up seafood chain . bbc news . 2007 08 07 . retrieved 2015 03 28 . hamish champ 2011 01 31 . greene king buys cloverleaf restaurants for 56m . morningadvertiser.co.uk . retrieved 2015 03 28 . nick fletcher 2011 04 27 . greene king expands presence in london with realpubs purchase business . the guardian . retrieved 2015 02 05 . greene king to buy capital pub company . bbc . 2011 07 19 . retrieved 2015 02 05 . greene king sales climb as it completes spirit acquisition . the daily telegraph . 2015 07 01 . retrieved 2015 08 25 . beers and breweries . greene king . retrieved 2015 05 08 . protz roger 2012 . camra s good beer guide 2013 . st. albans camra . p. 882 . isbn 9781852492908 . greene king sales climb as it completes spirit acquisition . the telegraph . retrieved 2015 09 02 . a b greene king where next with strategy . hospitality and catering news . 2014 07 16 . retrieved 2015 05 09 . pub signs of the times on show . bury free press . 2008 08 26 . retrieved 2015 02 05 . greene king brewery & museum . suffolk tourist guide . retrieved 10 march 2016 . nick davies 2006 11 03 . bonfire night protest turns heat on brewery . the guardian . retrieved 2015 02 05 . greene king the brewer camra loves to hate ragtrader . stockopedia.com . retrieved 2015 03 28 . business greene king boss faces a roasting . bbc news . 2006 11 01 . retrieved 2015 02 05 . great british pub awards . greatbritishpubawards.co.uk . 2013 03 25