'Last straw' robbery leads to brewery banning cash

A cider microbrewery has stopped accepting cash after thieves broke in to one of its sites.

Robert Langouroux-Fay, co-owner of the Bearded Brewery, said the robbery of the till and safe at the St Agnes shop had been "the last straw".

He said high bank fees for depositing cash and the increased cost of fuel used while collecting money from the St Mawgan, Mawgan Porth, Newquay and St Agnes sites had contributed to the decision.

"There may be the odd sale lost but to say 'cash is king' is totally incorrect as less than 5% of our take is in cash and it just creates a huge workload, from getting the change to stocking the tills to picking it up and getting it banked," he said.

Langouroux-Fay said: "We've been a massive advocate of cash since we started the brewery.

"However, when the charges are already so high and you couple that with nearly £2 per litre driving around all your branches to pick up the cash, it becomes a very costly exercise.

"I think taking cash was probably costing us between £400 and £500 a month."

The brewery also had to carry out repairs to the shop door after the thieves forced their way in.

"Thankfully it wasn't the height of the busy season, but making repairs hasn't been cheap and it's not what any business needs," Langouroux-Fay said.

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