Fox Friday Craft Brewery placed into voluntary administration as owners vow to keep doors open

A beloved Tasmanian craft brewery has been placed into voluntary administration while its financial backer is investigated by ASIC, with its owners vowing to “come through the other side”.

Fox Friday craft brewery co-owner Sarah Hooper.

A popular Tasmanian craft brewery has been forced to go into voluntary administration while its financial backer is investigated by ASIC, with its owners vowing to “come through the other side”.

Fox Friday Craft Brewery began as a nano-brewery in Moonah, but has since expanded to open bigger tap rooms and restaurants in Hobart, Melbourne and Perth.

“It’s with heavy hearts that we share some tough news. Sarah and I have made the difficult decision to place Fox Friday and subsidiaries (Moonah Hotel and Cellars, Carwyn Cellars) into voluntary administration with the appointment of McGrathNicol as the administrator,” owner Benn Hooper shared on social media on Wednesday.

“When we purchased Fox Friday in March 2019, it was just the two of us in a small factory unit located in Moonah, brewing beer during the week and running a makeshift taproom on the weekends.

Fox Friday Craft Brewery has been placed into voluntary administration: Picture: Fox Friday

“In late 2020, we opened our Hobart Taproom, and from there, our team grew. We added new venues and breweries, and welcomed incredibly dedicated people to the Fox Friday family.”

Mr Hooper said the team had built something they were “immensely proud of” in six years.

“Unfortunately, we’ve faced significant financial challenges that have brought us to this point,” Mr Hooper wrote.

“Our financial lender could not meet their obligations for our capital projects.”

As reported by The Australian last month, Falcon Capital had provided a $10m loan facility to the Tasmanian craft brewery, later upgraded to $30m.

Falcon is currently under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

“While funding was confirmed, we experienced continual delays extending to March 2025, and now they have been placed into liquidation,” Mr Hooper said in his post.

“This left us covering major capital projects with operational funds, based on assurances that support was still coming.”

Fox Friday Craft Brewery’s Melbourne tap room. Picture: Fox Friday

The Hoopers issued an apology to their suppliers, saying they “deeply regret any uncertainty this brings”.

“We tried everything we could to quickly pivot to new lenders and/or equity partners, but quite simply, time and the complex nature of the situation were not on our side,” they wrote.

“To our incredible team: words can’t express how sorry we are. You’ve poured your hearts into these businesses, and we’re so grateful for your talent, passion, and dedication.

“To our customers and community: thank you for believing in us, for sharing a beer with us, and for being part of this journey.”

The owners said they were “committed to keeping it business as usual” at Fox Friday, but flagged potential changes to operating days and hours.

“While we understand that there will be some uncertainty as a result of this decision, we very much intend to come through the other side of this and we hope that Fox Friday and its subsidiaries will continue to operate well into the future,” they wrote.

Originally published as Fox Friday Craft Brewery placed into voluntary administration as owners vow to keep doors open