Marlow Bottom's Rebellion brewery is now owned by a trust for its staff after 33 years, and plans a crowdfund in spring 2027 for new tanks and solar.

Rebellion, the brewery at Marlow Bottom, is now owned by a trust that holds it for its staff. The brewery announced on 14 October that ownership had passed to an Employee Ownership Trust after 33 years of independence. (Rebellion, 14 October 2026)

Marlow Bottom is about a mile and a half north of Marlow and four miles south-west of High Wycombe. The brewery’s shop, drive-through and Tap Yard are at Bencombe Farm there.

Rebellion says the move keeps it “permanently independent and in local hands”. Its explanation page says the brewery will “never” be “sold off to a corporate conglomerate, asset-stripped, or moved away from Marlow Bottom”.

Why the founders did it

The brewery says founders Tim Coombes and Mark Gloyens wanted to secure its long-term future while protecting its ethos. Both will stay involved “over the next few years”. In that time a management team “made up of existing long-term employees” takes on more of the running of the brewery.

Under the trust, staff share in the brewery’s distributable profits. Rebellion compares the structure to the John Lewis Partnership, the best known employee-owned business in the UK.

A crowdfund in spring 2027

Rebellion plans to ask customers to invest in a community crowdfunding round in spring 2027. It says the money would pay for:

  • new fermentation and conditioning tanks, to meet demand and launch new beers
  • equipment to capture and re-use the carbon dioxide given off during fermentation
  • solar panels across the site, with industrial battery storage
  • further work on the Tap Yard, with “long-term scope for satellite taprooms across the region”
  • paying down the debt owed to the founders, which brings forward the date when profits start to flow to staff

That last point says something about how the deal works. Rebellion still owes money to its founders, and it describes a “milestone date” when distributable profits will start to flow directly to staff. Paying the debt down faster brings that date forward. The brewery has not published the sum or the date.

What the public register shows

Companies House shows a new company, Rebellion Beer Company Trustee Limited (17476125), incorporated on 23 September 2026 at Bencombe Farm. It has three directors, all appointed that day, one of them Mark Gloyens.

The brewing company itself, Rebellion Beer Company Limited (03432170), was incorporated in September 1997. On 21 October its register of people with significant control still listed the two founders, each holding more than 25% but not more than 50% of the shares. A change of control is filed after the event, so the register can lag an announcement by some weeks.

What it means for you

If you buy from the shop or drink at the Tap Yard, nothing changes. Rebellion says it is “business as usual”, with “the exact same faces” in the shop, the Tap Yard and the brewhouse.

If you might invest, the brewery has a register-your-interest form on its future page. It says registering commits you to nothing, and that it will publish full terms and risk information before the campaign opens. Crowdfunded shares in a private company can lose value and are hard to sell, so read those terms when they appear.

For other Marlow and Wycombe businesses, see our local business directory.

Sources