THE COMPANY behind Glasgow's first specialty beer store and a popular city pub has announced that it is in liquidation.

Award-winning Hippo Beers which launched with the opening of a shop in Queen Margaret Drive in November 2012 had made a record loss of over £37,000 in the year to August 2016.

The company formed by Derek Hoy and Alec Knox - two old friends from university and Glasgow based beer lovers - launched the spin-off basement Hippo Taproom bar in Sauchiehall Street just a year ago.

Their west end store was famed for having a constantly revolving range of approximately 350 different beers ranging from Scottish brands, such as Brewdog, to European and American beers from quirky independent breweries.

Glasgow Times:

The firm said in an announcement: “I'm sorry to inform you that unfortunately Hippo Beers Ltd is in liquidation.

“Thanks for your support over the last five years.”

It means that the two-day Great Scottish Beer Celebration it organised for August 25 and 26 to showcase the thriving independent Scottish brewing industry is now cancelled.

Glasgow Times:

Stuart Robb and Julien Irving of Leonard Curtis Recovery Ltd have been appointed as joint provisional liquidators of the firm.

Mr Hoy and Mr Knox had opened the store with a mission to bring specialist beers to Glasgow.

Mr Hoy, a Glasgow City Council worker had initially decided to juggle his job as a monitoring officer with the running of the shop. And Mr Knox, originally from Kilwinning in Ayrshire, left his post as a transport planning consultant to concentrate on the business full-time.

Glasgow Times:

A year later Hippo Beers won the best business initiative award at the British Institute of Innkeeping Scotland awards.