Social impact investor Resonance has poured fresh investment into a Devon brewery employing people with learning disabilities and autism.

The Ivybridge Brewing Company has used £25,000 of funding to expand operations into a neighbouring building near the River Erme, helping to refurbish its new taproom and increase the size of its brewery and cold room.

A new fermenter has also been purchased to keep up with growing demand for its core range of four beers – Erme Pale, Moorland Mosaic, a pilsner lager (PILS 21) and Redlake Red Amber Ale – and seasonal beers including a honeycomb stout, a porter and two hazy pales.

The social enterprise sold over 10,000 bottles and 16,000 pints across its taproom and at Darts Farm and Greendale Farm shops, The Box, the National Trust, the Watermark, several restaurants and the Arts Centre in Ashburton.

Resonance provided the £25k cash boost via its Resonance Enterprise Investment (REI) fund, which tackles some of the country’s pressing challenges, including health and wellbeing, reducing economic inequality and the transition to a low-carbon economy.

REI is backed by investors including Unity Trust Bank, Enterprise for Development and The Ceniarth UK Foundation.

Simon Rundle, Ivybridge Brewing Company’s Founder and CEO, said: “We’ve realised that our motto, ‘great beer changing lives’, extends beyond the people who come in and work with us.

“It encompasses all our customers visiting the taproom - their lives are changed just by experiencing a world where people with learning disabilities and autism work in a welcoming and positive environment.”

He went on to add: “The overarching theme is confidence. People who work here all feel confident, and that comes from being part of a community, having friends, solving problems, being proud to make a product. They feel better about themselves.”

The Ivybridge Brewing Company started in a kitchen in a town hall eight years ago, then moved to its new home in the centre of Ivybridge in 2021, before expanding into the building next door.

It currently boasts 16 employees and volunteers, eleven of whom have a learning disability or are neurodiverse.

They all gain skills including customer service, teamwork and dealing with money, while developing industry skills such as bottling, cleaning vessels and learning about the brewing process.

The latter is carried out by head brewer Chris May and with support from Master Brewer Hugo Anderson and Mark Higgs, who was former General Manager at Salcombe Brewery and Exmoor Ales.

Nia, 26, who has learning disabilities and works at the brewery, said: “I enjoy meeting new people, helping the customers and being with my friends. It means a lot to me.”

Jason, 30, started working there after lockdown. He agreed: “I work in the taproom and I do bottling – I like it all. I love the atmosphere here and working with the people.”

2026 marks five years of Ivybridge Brewing Company being located in the centre of town.

The social enterprise is marking the birthday by successfully crowdfunding for a new van that will help increase external sales and launching a food offering.

Boosted by the extension funded by Resonance, it now has space to increase taproom income and develop a supported employment programme that will allow it to take on more trainees, including establishing links with potential employers.

Leila Sharland, Head of Growing Enterprises at Resonance, concluded: “Companies, such as Ivybridge Brewing Company, are providing an award-winning product while offering work experience for people who may otherwise face barriers to employment.

“We’re delighted to help the team expand their operations to provide a valuable social enterprise in the heart of the community.”

The REI fund has several exciting investments in the pipeline, ranging from a neurodiversity centre and a food truck signposting mental health services, to an initiative training people experiencing long-term unemployment to work with reused wood.