A MAN previously in charge of 900 pubs has taken over as managing director at Thwaites brewery.

Peter Morris has joined the Blackburn brewer after a highly-successful career in the British brewing industry.

He started almost three decades ago as a trainee at Whitbread Brewery.

Liverpool-born Mr Morris went on to hold many managerial positions within Whitbread, particularly in distribution and free trade, and was appointed sales director when the company acquired Boddingtons in Manchester.

He later moved into a key position within Whitbread's leased pub business and was responsible for the running of 300 tenanted and leased pubs in the West of England and South Wales.

In 1998, he joined Scottish and Newcastle as Operations and Sales Director for Pub Enterprises in London and the South East, progressing to take on the entire southern division of some 900 pubs.

He said: "I am immensely excited to be given the opportunity to lead Thwaites, a brewery renowned not only for its heritage and tradition, but also for its modern and progressive outlook. These are very challenging times in the industry at large, but I feel Thwaites is very well placed to look forward with confidence."

Thwaites' Chairman, Mrs Ann Yerburgh, added: "We are delighted to welcome Peter to Thwaites and believe that his experience and reputation within the brewing industry will help us significantly as we confront a challenging marketplace.

"We interviewed many candidates, but Peter was the one who shone through not least for his enthusiasm and knowledge of all the main aspects, including free trade, managed houses, leases, tenancies and distribution. We feel we are putting the day-to-day running of our business in very safe hands."

Mr Morris replaces master brewer Brian Hickman, who left his position as Thwaites managing director after just a year in the role.

Thwaites employs 340 staff and has 425 pubs, is also investing over £6million on improving and refurbishing a number of its pubs.

Last year, the company's 200-year-anniversary celebrations helped the group report a 9.5 per cent growth in profit before tax to around £12.7million for the year ending March 31, 2007.