Bottled beers from the Black Sheep Brewery, Wellgarth House, Wellgarth Court, Crosshills, Masham, Ripon, Yorkshire, England, HG4 4EN

As Masham celebrated the King’s Coronation, people in the small market town have spoken of hopes a buyer can be found for the Black Sheep Brewery. Last week, Black Sheep announced administrators had been appointed after being “hit very hard” by the pandemic and a rise in costs. The company, which employs around 50 members of staff, was founded in 1992 and has become a tourist hotspot bringing a significant amount of footfall to the town. One local business owner told the Stray Ferret people are worried about a potential loss of income for their own businesses if the brewery doesn’t survive. Tim Ledbetter, owner of Bentley’s of Masham, said: “With it being such a big employer, there is then a big knock-on effect. “We get a lot of trade from visitors of Black Sheep — it could be detrimental.” The brewery reported turnover of £14.3 million as of March 31, 2022, according to its most recent accounts. However, it also stated a pre-tax loss of £1.18 million, compared to £862, 871 profit in the previous year