One of Wales’ leading independent micro-breweries will be creating 20 new jobs, after buying a 65,000 sq ft site with the support of a £360,000 funding package from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

Tiny Rebel Brewery was founded in 2012 by Bradley Cummings and Gareth Williams, and needed to expand after securing deals to export to 14 different countries, winning Champion Beer of Britain and being awarded the title of Best UK Brewery at the International Beer Challenge.

After running at maximum capacity for more than two years, the owners have now bought the site which will enable them to produce five times more beer.

As a result of the expansion the company expects to achieve a turnover of approximately £4m by April 2017. The extra capacity will also allow the business to start exporting to Norway and other Scandinavian countries.

The new site, which will open in April 2017, will be open to the public for brewery tours and will also contain a shop and a bar for up to 200 people.

Bradley said: “The past four years have been extraordinary for us, and we’ve managed to turn a hobby we loved into a successful business with bars in Cardiff and Newport.

“It was obvious that we needed to move to a new premises to help the business to continue to expand successfully, and we can’t wait to move to the new site next year.

“As first-time business owners it’s been beneficial to work with a banking partner that has helped guide us through day-to-day challenges. The relationship team really understands the sector that we operate in and has always been able to provide the tailored support needed.”

Dave Williams, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Tiny Rebel Brewery is a brilliant example of a business that has the customer at its heart, producing high-quality and unique products that set it apart from its competitors.

“The UK food and drink sector is thriving, with the Lloyds Bank Food and Drink report finding that manufacturers in the sector planning on creating more than 75,000 new jobs over the next five years.

“Our team of specialist manufacturing relationship managers are here to help businesses like Tiny Rebel Brewery capitalise on new opportunities, which is why we have committed to increasing our net lending to SMEs by £1bn every year until 2017.”