Tennent's
Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom · Est. 1885
Tally's Take
Why this matters
The undisputed best-selling lager in Scotland, heavily scaled by the Dublin-based C&C Group.
The Museum
Timeline
- 2009Bought by C&C Group
C&C acquires Tennent Caledonian Breweries from AB InBev in August 2009, taking the Tennent's brand and Glasgow's Wellpark Brewery — brewing on that site since 1556 — out of multinational hands and into an Irish drinks group.
The Beer Library
Beers
Tennent's
Year-RoundPale Lager
The Tennent family had been brewing on the Molendinar Burn in Glasgow since 1740, but it took until 1885 for a descendant named Hugh Tennent to brew an actual lager, inspired by trips to Bavaria. The Red T logo went on to become trademarked across the entire British Empire in 1867 — and to this day, it means 'home' to more Scots than almost anything else on a shelf.
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How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1885Founded
- 2009Bought by C&C Group
C&C acquires Tennent Caledonian Breweries from AB InBev in August 2009, taking the Tennent's brand and Glasgow's Wellpark Brewery — brewing on that site since 1556 — out of multinational hands and into an Irish drinks group.
Today the chain tops out at C&C Group.
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Tennent's is controlled by Public company.
C&C Group Annual Report 2026 · C&C Group plc · 2026-06
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 Tennent's
- Who owns Tennent's?
- Tennent's is owned by C&C Group. Tennent's is based in Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
- Is Tennent's still independent?
- No. Tennent's is owned by C&C Group and is no longer independent.
- When was Tennent's acquired?
- 2009. C&C acquires Tennent Caledonian Breweries from AB InBev in August 2009, taking the Tennent's brand and Glasgow's Wellpark Brewery — brewing on that site since 1556 — out of multinational hands and into an Irish drinks group.
- When was Tennent's founded?
- Tennent's was founded in 1885 in Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
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