The long established Cheltenham & Hereford and Stroud Breweries merged in 1959 under a new holding company West Country Brewery Holdings Limited, which was acquired by Whitbread in 1963 together with its 1300 tied houses . Whitbread closed the Stroud Brewery soon after taking it over, although the premises were used as a distribution depot until 1969. The brewery was demolished in 1970. The Cheltenham Brewery survived until 1998, when it too was closed - the buildings were demolished in 2004 to make way for a new shopping centre.