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The UB Group commenced its brewing operations as early as the 19th Century (1857) with five small breweries in South India. In 1951, a Scotsman named Thomas Leishman combined the five breweries to form United Breweries. The company was taken over by Vijay Mallya in 1947. In 1952 the Company shifted its registered office from Madras to Bangalore. In 1988 the name of the Company was changed from United Breweries Ltd. to UB Ltd. In 1989 as a measure of diversification, the Company started manufacture of bulk drug, and pharmaceuticals on a priority basis. In 1992, 11 different breweries were amalgamated with the parent company. In 1994 the company launched its 'Kalyani Premium Strong' and started exporting 'Kalyani Export Special' to UK. The company presently has 21 breweries under its direct or indirect control. Recently the company has started implementing restructuring exercise under which it has decided to split its businesses into two - the core beer business and the group investment business. The company has decided to focus on core businesses and to hive off non-core businesses.
UB is the market leader in the Indian beer market with a 40% market share. Its flagship Kingfisher brand alone commands 25% market share. The company has started focussing on strong beer, which has driven growth. While the overall market grew marginally by 2%, the strong beer market grew at 8-10% during the year at the expense of lager beer. The market is now skewed towards strong beer with more than 60% of the market being strong beer market. Other major developments in FY00 have been the entry of a few big international players in the domestic market and the opening up of beer market of Tamil Nadu.
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