Last Banks's beer brewed at its 150-year-old base

Slade frontman Noddy Holder was among those to appear in TV adverts for the brewery

Banks's Brewery has produced the last beer at its 150-year-old base in Wolverhampton and the site will shut at the end of the month, bosses have said.

It began operations in 1875, but last October Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company (CMBC) announced it would close as part of a company restructuring.

Production is moving to Burton-upon-Trent after the drinks giant said more than £6m had been spent upgrading facilities there.

CMBC had said the brewery, employing 97 people, was to close this autumn and confirmed to the BBC it would now be at the end of this month with staff working on site until then.

In July, CMBC, which is now known as Carlsberg Britvic following its merger with Britvic in January, announced it was also to be the first occupier of a 222,000 sq ft purpose-built logistics hub by the M6 motorway in Staffordshire.

Leaving its base in Wolverhampton would be "part of a managed transition" once the site opened from autumn 2026, creating 8,500 jobs for people in South Staffordshire, the Black Country, the West Midlands and other surrounding areas, the firm said in the summer.

• Spoilt by progress? Reactions to Banks's closure

The drinks giant said on Wednesday the last beer was produced at the end of August.

There has been dismay and anger at the landmark brewery closing, with Wolverhampton West MP Warinder Juss among those campaigning to keep the brewery going.

Announcing the move last October, Paul Davies, CEO of CMBC, said it had been an "extremely difficult" decision but it was necessary to restructure the businesses to maintain its competitiveness in a "challenging UK beer market".

In November, the firm said it was axing a number of beers from sale, including classic ales Banks's Mild and Bombardier which the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) said was a "sad and disappointing decision".

A commemorative beer was produced in the summer for Wolverhampton Beer Festival to mark the 150th and final year of beer production in the city as a "fitting tribute that honour the brewery's legacy".

Addressing the confirmation of the closure, Carlsberg Britvic said: "Banks's Brewery brewed its last beer at the end of August.

"As announced last year, Banks's Brewery was due to close in autumn 2025 and this will be at the end of this month – people will be working on site until then."