Champion Breweries Plc has agreed a new partnership to manufacture and distribute Bature Brewery’s craft beers across Nigeria, with an option to acquire three of the brewery’s brands.
Nairametrics reported that the company disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
The agreement is with Thistlerock Enterprises Limited, the owner of Bature Brewery, and covers three brands: Lagos Lager, Black Gold Stout and Harmattan Haze.
Champion will produce the beers at its brewery in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, and distribute them through its nationwide network.
Under the deal, Champion will handle the brewing, packaging and distribution of the three brands. Bature will license them to the listed brewer for manufacturing and sales across Nigeria.
Bature is one of Nigeria’s pioneering independent craft breweries. It will retain ownership of the brands and keep control of product development, brand strategy and consumer engagement. It will also continue to serve its hospitality customers directly in Lagos.
“Champion Breweries Plc (NGX: CHAMPION) has entered into an agreement with Thistlerock Enterprises Limited, owner of Bature Brewery, to manufacture and distribute Bature’s craft beers across Nigeria,” the statement read in part.
The agreement also gives Champion an option to buy the three brands outright, including their trademarks, recipes and goodwill. The option can be exercised once their combined annual sales reach 40,000 hectolitres, equivalent to 4 million litres.
Any acquisition would be based on a pre-agreed, performance-linked valuation and would need the necessary corporate and regulatory approvals. The current arrangement therefore does not amount to an outright acquisition of Bature Brewery or its brands.
Champion’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Malolan Sampath, said the partnership would let the company use its manufacturing capacity and distribution network to extend the reach of established Nigerian beverage brands.
Bature’s Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Conroy, said the arrangement would help the brewery reach consumers beyond its existing Lagos market while retaining control of the brands’ creative direction.
Distribution of the three beers will begin in phases. Lagos Lager will be the first to enter the nationwide arrangement, with its launch expected at the Calabar Festival in December 2026.
Harmattan Haze is scheduled to follow in the first quarter of 2027, while Black Gold Stout is expected to enter the market later in 2027.
The phased rollout will give Champion access to Bature’s existing craft beer portfolio. It will also use the company’s production capacity and distribution infrastructure to reach consumers in other parts of the country.
Champion has been growing its beverage portfolio through acquisitions as part of efforts to diversify beyond its traditional beer and malt business.
In February 2026, the company completed the acquisition of the Bullet global brand portfolio from Sun Mark, securing its trademarks, formulations and commercial rights.
The acquisition gave Champion access to a portfolio distributed across 14 African markets, including Nigeria. It also strengthened the company’s presence in the ready-to-drink alcoholic beverage and energy drink segments.
For the financial year ended December 2025, Champion reported revenue of ₦29.80 billion, a 43 per cent increase from the previous year.
Its profit before tax rose by 108 per cent to ₦2.65 billion, while profit after tax grew by 119 per cent to ₦1.79 billion.
However, its more recent results show a decline in profitability. Champion recorded a pre-tax profit of ₦917.52 million for the nine months ended September 2026, a 70.77 per cent drop from ₦3.14 billion in the corresponding period of 2025.
This came despite a 139.85 per cent increase in revenue and a 47.50 per cent rise in operating profit to ₦6.33 billion, according to its unaudited third-quarter financial results filed with the Nigerian Exchange.
The partnership comes amid stiff competition in Nigeria’s beverage market, where established brewers are expanding their portfolios and investing in distribution to win over consumers.
Nigerians spent about ₦1.41 trillion on beer, malt and spirits in the first half of 2026, based on the financial results of Nigerian Breweries, International Breweries and Guinness Nigeria. The three companies account for roughly 90 per cent of Nigeria’s formal brewing industry.
Younger Nigerians are increasingly exploring spirits, wine, ready-to-drink beverages and non-alcoholic alternatives.
Craft beer continues to gain traction in urban centres, creating opportunities for smaller specialist breweries to reach more consumers.
Nigeria’s three listed breweries spent more than ₦220 billion on advertising and distribution in the first half of 2026 as they competed for shelf space and consumer attention.
The scale of that spending underlines how important market reach is in the competition among beverage producers.
