The transaction will mark the successful carve-out of CBRL from Close Brothers Group plc and the creation of a newly independent platform. The deal underpins MML’s strategy of backing high-quality, asset-intensive businesses with strong recurring revenues, proven scalability, and embedded ESG credentials. This investment provides the financial and strategic backing required to accelerate the business’s growth trajectory, enhance digital infrastructure, and pursue both domestic and international expansion. MML will support the business post completion, adding new members to the leadership team and the operational expertise to drive value creation in a structurally attractive market. Post acquisition, the business will simply trade as ekeg.

A Resilient, ESG-Driven Platform

Founded in 2007, CBRL operates a fleet of over one million stainless steel kegs, providing UK and Irish beverage producers with access to pooled and leased containers on a capital-light basis. The business complements this with container cleaning and maintenance services, managing over 3.5 million keg cycles annually.

As a mission-critical supply chain partner to brewers, the business benefits from long-term customer relationships, high asset utilisation, and a scalable operating model. Its platform offers a cost-efficient, ESG-driven solution to beverage logistics, reducing capex requirements for producers while advancing industry sustainability targets.

Investment Rationale

MML’s investment thesis is anchored in several key attributes:

• Recurring Revenue Profile: A highly predictable revenue stream driven by contracted keg leasing and pooling volumes.
• Asset Efficiency: Capital-backed infrastructure with high utilisation rates and low marginal cost to scale.
• ESG Driven: Embedded sustainability via circular economy principles, aligning with increasing customer and regulatory demand.
• Operational Leverage: Clear opportunity to digitise, streamline, and expand the platform, both geographically and functionally.

Andrew Honan, Partner at MML Capital and Head of MML Keystone, said:

“ekeg will fit squarely within our investment sweet spot: mission-critical logistics with a sustainable edge, recurring revenues, and scalable infrastructure. We are excited to partner with Adam and the new and existing leadership team to build on the strong foundations that the Close team have built and replicate the success we’ve seen in similar platforms like GPS.”

Adam Trippe-Smith, Incoming Group CEO of ekeg, said:

“This will be a transformative moment for the ekeg business and our industry. With MML’s support, we have the opportunity to scale ekeg into the most innovative, agile, service-driven, and sustainability-led keg platform in the UK & Ireland. Close Brothers built a fantastic business and has proven the keg management model works – now it’s about accelerating execution, digitisation and scale.”

Transaction Details

The deal was led by Andrew Honan, James Brown (Investment Manager), and Laura Goksch (Investment Associate) of MML Keystone. MML was advised by EY (Jack Dessay) and Hogan Lovells (Simon Grimshaw).

CBRL (later ekeg) joins MML’s growing portfolio of circular logistics and essential services platforms. The transaction represents a continuation of MML’s strategy to back scalable businesses with durable earnings, real asset backing, and sustainability embedded at their core.