Greene King has sold the Old Speckled Hen brand to Damm UK, the British arm of Spanish brewer Estrella Damm. Brewing is expected to eventually move from Bury St Edmunds to Damm’s brewery in Bedford. It will also mean a change to the Greene King distribution centre  in Abingdon where the lorries carry the Old Speckled Hen livery

For the national press, this is a business story. For Abingdon, it is part of the afterlife of two of the town’s best-known names: Morland and MG.

Old Speckled Hen was first brewed in Abingdon in 1979 by Morland Brewery to celebrate 50 years of the MG factory being based in the town. The original logo had a chain connecting MG with the town crest. The name came from an old mottled MG factory “runaround” car known as the “owd speckl’d un”.

There was an irony to the story of a beer created to commemorate MG’s presence in Abingdon becoming a national success after the factory closed.

The timeline tells the story:

1979 — Old Speckled Hen first brewed in Abingdon by Morland
1980 — MG factory closes
1999/2000 — Greene King acquires Morland (their interest in Morland was driven in part by the success of Old Speckled Hen beer). Brewing leaves Abingdon for Bury St Edmunds
2026 — Greene King sells the brand to Damm UK, with brewing expected to move to Bedford

Greene King kept the MG hexagon and Morland name on the beer.  Damm appears keen to market Old Speckled Hen as an “iconic British ale brand with a rich heritage”. However, I have seen nothing to suggest that they have acquired the Morland name or logo. The acquisition appears to cover the Old Speckled Hen family of beers rather Morland itself, so I don’t know whether the Morland branding will continue on the beer.