‘We envisaged a different path’: Farsons Chairman on brewery transformation

Farsons Group Chairman Louis A. Farrugia has detailed the risks the company took when transforming its iconic brewery.

Speaking at the official inauguration of Trident Park and The Brewhouse on Wednesday evening, Mr Farrugia explained how the group had decided to create a low-lying, sustainable, and aesthetically pleasing green campus, rather than maximise the footprint of the large industrial site.

“Like the company’s founders, we too envisaged taking a different path,” he said at the inauguration which was attended by several dignitaries including Prime Minister Robert Abela, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, and ambassadors.

“The easier road might have been to knock down or develop more of the available precious space and prioritise the realisable profit but yet as a board, we all understood that there was inherent and intangible value to be extracted from preserving our heritage and creating a less dense and open green office campus environment,” he remarked.

“Let me be clear, we did not do this out of some altruistic disregard for profit, but precisely because we believed in the business proposition and this belief underpinned our every decision throughout this project,” Mr Farrugia said.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, he said Trident Park and The Brewhouse are not just physical structures, but “expressions of Farsons Group’s long-held values, traditions, and commitment to excellence”.

Mr Farrugia explained how Farsons Group had made a deliberate strategic decision not to utilise all of the site’s developable space, and instead created a low-lying, terraced project which prioritises quality over quantity.

“Both The Brewhouse and Trident Park are truly marvellous spaces. We took risks, but we were confident that this was the right path to take,” he added.

Opened 73 years ago, in June 1950, the original brewery is one of the first and finest examples of concrete-reinforced Art Deco buildings.

The redevelopment consists of seven low-density and low-rise, terraced office blocks, all of which are intersected by landscaped generous gardens, courtyards and terraces.

While Trident Park, a €66 million investment, is described as a “world-class office campus”, The Brewhouse, a further €20 million investment, is a “truly unique destination”, which offers business facilities and a number of food and beverage outlets, as well as a new brand store and brewery experience, all set against the beautifully restored industrial heritage of the original brewery building.

Michael Farrugia, Director of both Simonds Farsons Cisk plc and Trident Estates plc, as well as Deputy CEO of the Farsons beverage business also addressed the gathering.

He said to those at Farsons, the brewery site was always “much more than just a building but a symbol of our deep passion for brewing and brands, of our rich history and industrial heritage, our committed workforce and the community we proudly continue to serve”.

“It is a building that stood the test of time to become a national and iconic landmark and part of the collective memory that has left an indelible mark on the lives of the thousands of workers who have worked within its walls, many of whom would have spent their entire careers working here,” he continued.

“Indeed, that is what makes industrial heritage sites so worthy of conservation and regeneration for they provide a window to our social and cultural past and house a certain soul that goes beyond the purely brick and mortar to act as markers of humankind’s progress or otherwise,” Mr Farrugia said.