Nirvana Brewery, the pioneer of No/Low beers in the UK, has appointed its first CEO and embarked on an ambitious fund-raise, seeking upwards of £1m.
The moves come as figures confirm that 2025 was the biggest year yet for No and Low-alcohol beers, with over 200 million pints sold in pubs and bars (source: British Beer & Pub Association, April 2026), while retail sales rose by an incredible 13.3 million litres (Source: NIQ 52 w/e 27 December 2025).
Paul Thomas Walsh (aged 48) takes up the Nirvana CEO position after two decades spent working in London, New York and Berlin across a variety of sectors including investment banking and fintech. He brings a wealth of experience to the newly created role as Nirvana celebrates a decade of brewing – and its own most successful year yet (YoY sales up 59% and winner of more than a dozen leading industry awards).
The fundraise marks a step up from past ones Nirvana has undertaken, with it reaching out to major institutional investors and ‘family offices’ – which are set up to advise and manage the funds of ultra-high net worth individuals and, more commonly, families.
Walsh said: “Ten years on from being the first dedicated No/Low brewery, we’re determined to grow significantly when the sector is one of very few bright lights in brewing. And, given our own sales success, this is a perfect time to ride that momentum. This requires heavyweight support from backers who believe in longer-term investments – ones that will enable this pioneering brewery to continue to produce multi-award-winning beers.”
Becky Taylor-Kean, Nirvana’s founder and brand ambassador added: “Paul’s expertise and the funds raised will enable us to realise our ambition of becoming the UK’s No.1 alcohol-free craft beer. With a range of serves from 330ml cans to 500ml ‘long pour’ bottles and an increasing number on draught, there’s no other No/Low brewer with the depth of choice that we can offer the trade.”
Walsh added that the funds raised will cover a variety of key elements for Nirvana, including new and expanded sales and account handling teams, plus significant product investment and brand building activities.
