Strongbow is owned by Heineken (the Netherlands, AEX: HEIA), which acquired the brand on 28 April 2008, as part of a £7.8 billion deal that also included Kronenbourg 1664.[1][2] Strongbow was founded in 1962 in the United Kingdom and was independent until 2008.
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Strongbow is a British cider launched in 1962 and named after the Norman earl who invaded Ireland, and it became the largest cider brand in the United Kingdom. Heineken acquired it with Scottish & Newcastle in 2008, and it is now sold across Europe, Australia and the United States.
Heineken is a publicly listed company headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1864. Brandtree records 29 brands under its control, and it is listed as AEX: HEIA.
Heineken was founded in Amsterdam in 1864 when Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought the Haystack brewery. It is the second-largest brewer in the world and remains family-influenced through Heineken Holding N.V.
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 554 brands that began in the United Kingdom.
292 of them (53%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Strongbow among them.
Heineken and Carlsberg bid jointly for Scottish & Newcastle at about GBP 7.8 billion and split it between them rather than one buying the whole company. Heineken took the British and Irish business including Strongbow, Carlsberg took the French and Russian operations including Kronenbourg. A joint bid to divide a target is unusual, and it is why two competing brewers date their ownership of these brands to the same day.
The parent company of Strongbow is Heineken, a publicly listed company headquartered in the Netherlands.
Is Strongbow British or Dutch?
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Strongbow originated in the United Kingdom in 1962, but it is owned today by Heineken, which is headquartered in the Netherlands. So Strongbow is a British-origin brand under Dutch ownership.
When did Heineken buy Strongbow?
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Heineken completed its acquisition of Strongbow on 28 April 2008, after announcing the deal on 25 January 2008. The deal, which also included Kronenbourg 1664, was valued at £7.8 billion (enterprise value).
Who owned Strongbow before Heineken?
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Strongbow was an independent company from its founding in 1962 until Heineken acquired it in 2008.
Is Strongbow still owned by Heineken?
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Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Strongbow is still owned by Heineken. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (2) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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