Greene King
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, United Kingdom · Est. 1799
Tally's Take
Why this matters
Once the UK's largest independent brewer, controversially acquired by a massive Hong Kong asset company in 2019.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1799Founded
Greene King begins brewing in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
- 2019Acquired
Once the UK's largest independent brewer, controversially acquired by a Hong Kong asset company in 2019.
The Beer Library
Beers
Abbot Ale
Year-RoundPremium Bitter
Bury St Edmunds since 1799, and now one of the largest pub estates in Britain — Greene King owns the beer and a great many of the taps it is sold on.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Greene King IPA
Year-RoundEnglish Bitter
An IPA at three-point-six percent, which tells you how completely the British meaning of the term diverged from the American one. Both are historically defensible.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Follow the money
How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1799Founded
- 2019Acquired
Once the UK's largest independent brewer, controversially acquired by a Hong Kong asset company in 2019.
Today the chain tops out at CK Asset Holdings.
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Greene King is controlled by Founder / family.
CK Asset Holdings — AGM Circular · CK Asset Holdings · 2026-04
PrimaryHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-05Reviewed 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Greene King
- Who owns Greene King?
- Greene King is owned by CK Asset Holdings. Greene King is based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, United Kingdom.
- Is Greene King still independent?
- No. Greene King is owned by CK Asset Holdings and is no longer independent.
- When was Greene King acquired?
- 2019. Once the UK's largest independent brewer, controversially acquired by a Hong Kong asset company in 2019.
- When was Greene King founded?
- Greene King was founded in 1799 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, United Kingdom.
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