Billson’s Brewery co-founder, Nathan Cowan has taken to Linked inn to announce their difficult decision to put the alcoholic beverage and cordial business into Voluntary Administration.
Cowan said over the last seven years, the business has grown exponentially, however this same growth has masked several mistakes that have led to this decision.
“Over the course of 7 years, everyone’s hard work and passion has resulted in overwhelming support by people all over Australia and some pretty incredible business growth,” said Cowan.
“Unfortunately, that growth masked several mistakes we made along the way as our systems and processes failed to keep up. We’re ultimately responsible for these mistakes and we know that we have let people down. We are devastated and sorry.
“The challenges we’ve encountered in 2024 have been vast and incomprehensible in scale.”
Cowan said he and co-founder Felicity Cowan are shattered by the decision regarding what has been their passion project since 2017.
“In 2017 Felicity and I moved to Beechworth with dreams of restoring the historic brewery and creating a special experience for everyone who visited,” said Cowan.
“We are shattered by the stress this decision will undoubtedly cause our team, suppliers, customers and fans.
“We’ve tried everything imaginable over the past 6 months to avoid this situation, including restructuring on two occasions, however we now believe this to be the necessary step for survival.”
Despite this, the Bilson’s venue and online store are set to operate as normal.
“We’ll continue to supply our fans through all of our amazing customers in bottle shops and venues across the country,” said Cowan
Cowan finished by saying that they will do everything possible to make sure the brand can re-emerge as a more resilient business.
“Thank you so much for your support over the years, it truly means the world to us. Despite our many shortcomings, we will never give up,” said Cowan.
“With all of its remarkable local history, we believe that Billson’s will get through this, so people can enjoy it, well into the future.”
We will do everything possible to work through this so Billson’s can emerge more resilient as a business and ready to take on another century.