Local craft beer distributor with a van

Independent pubs, craft beer bars, restaurants, delis, farm shops and off-licences that want local beer without dealing with lots of separate brewers.

You buy at a trade price and sell at a margin, often with regular weekly or fortnightly orders. Adding more brewers to your range and more customers to each delivery route raises your sales per trip.

• Selling and building trade relationships
• Driving and route planning
• Stock control and basic bookkeeping
• Knowing and enjoying beer styles

• Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS) registration with HMRC, and checking you only buy from approved suppliers
• Whether your storage and sales need any council or licensing permission, check with your local council
• Alcohol duty and VAT: confirm with HMRC or an accountant how they apply to your set-up
• Public liability, goods in transit and motor insurance for a van carrying stock
• Heavy lifting of casks and kegs, and keeping cask beer at the right temperature
• Chasing late payments from customers, as pubs can be slow payers

Startup costs are typically around £8,000 to £30,000, depending on your van, storage unit and opening stock. Check public liability, goods in transit and motor insurance for a van carrying stock.

Check Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme (AWRS) registration with HMRC and that you only buy from approved suppliers. Also check with your local council about storage and sales permissions, and confirm with HMRC or an accountant how alcohol duty and VAT apply.

Monthly revenue is typically around £3,000 to £15,000, depending on how many venues you supply and the volumes you sell. Pubs can be slow payers, so plan for chasing late payments.