Kegstar has acquired Keg Lease Pty Ltd, a specialist keg leasing company that focusses on the Australian craft beer industry.

Keg Lease was previously owned by brewing ingredients supplier Bintani.

“Since commencing operations in December 2012, Keg Lease has grown to be a major supplier of keg leasing services in the Australian market with in excess of 21,000 kegs currently leased to over 125 customers,” Bintani said in a statement.

“We now feel the time is right for Kegstar to continue the growth of Keg Lease with its strong access to capital as part of Brambles and the opportunity to provide integrated keg solutions that incorporate both leasing and pooling.”Kegstar has incorporated the Keg Lease fleet into its current operations, giving brewers and other beverage manufacturers the option of keg pooling or keg leasing services.

Kegstar General Manager, Nick Boots, said: “This exciting acquisition provides Kegstar customers with with a broader variety of flexible keg management options to match their needs. Having a comprehensive leasing option alongside Kegstar’s well-established keg pooling solutions will be attractive to a broader catchment of producers. We will launch the Keg Lease business in New Zealand in October.”

Kegstar launched in 2012, with global supply chain logistics company Brambles acquiring a 30% stake in the company in 2014 and taking complete ownership on 1 December 2015.The acquisition means Kegstar can now offer customers branded kegs.

Kegstar CEO Adam Trippe-Smith told Brews News: “There’s proven to be a demand for keg leasing for either start-up phase breweries, or single state breweries or breweries that want branding on the keg. Up until now we haven’t offered that and we do see a demand for it. If that’s what customers want, we want to be able to offer it to them.”

Bintani Australia will remain involved in selling and repairing kegs through its Keg Services operations.

| A Drinks Bulletin release  ||  September 4,  2017   |||