 Boddingtons remained independent until 1989 , when Ewart Boddington sold Strangeways Brewery and the Boddingtons brand ( but not the tied estate ) to Whitbread for £ 50 @.@ 7 million . Whitbread was motivated to plug a gap in its portfolio by owning a credible national cask ale brand . The sale was amicable , with both parties aware that Whitbread capital and distribution could make the Boddingtons brand national , although some Boddington family board members had been resistant to the sale . Boddingtons had been in decline before the Whitbread takeover , and although it retained an almost " cult " following within its Manchester heartland , only 5 per cent of sales were outside the North West . 
