Europe: Carlsberg is expected to continue closing European breweries

Danish beer maker Carlsberg A/S said it expects to continue to close breweries in Europe, but declined to comment on the fate of its UK Tetley brewery in Leeds which many analysts believe is set to close, Reuters communicated on June 26.

"We will reduce the number of breweries in Europe, we are consistently reviewing our European network, but there is no news on the UK," said Carlsberg Chief Executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen in an interview on June 26.

Carlsberg, the smallest of Britain's four big brewers, is under pressure to cut costs ahead of the expiry of a lucrative pub supply contract and a pub smoking ban, and one way would be the closure of its Tetley brewery in Leeds, northern England, analysts added.

Carlsberg has two breweries in the UK, the other being in Northampton in the English midlands.

Carlsberg is set to hold talks over the future of the Tetley brewery with Leeds City Council, as the site is now set among office and residential redevelopment, and could be worth up to 100 million pounds ($200 million) if sold, analysts said.

Andersen said Carlsberg had "an acceptable business in the UK and an okay return on capital", but admitted it will face less attractive conditions after the expiry of the pub supply contract towards the end of this year.

In March, Carlsberg put up for sale one of its Italian breweries to focus its Italian brewing on just one site.