TPR asked for information on the Brewery’s financial position, following the submission of the 2015 valuation of some of the company’s final salary pension schemes, which the TPR required to understand whether the schemes were being adequately supported.

The information was provided three months after the deadline expired and only after criminal proceedings has commenced.

On 30 July, at Brighton Magistrates Court, Humphrey Smith was fined £8,000 and Samuel smith Old Brewery was fined £18,750. They were also ordered to pay £1,240 in costs and victim surcharges.

Smith was charged because the offence by the company was committed with his consent, connivance or neglect.

Nicola Parish, TPR’s executive director of frontline regulation, said: ‘Smith and the brewery could have avoided this fine and a criminal conviction by simply complying with our notice requiring the information to be provided.

‘Our ability to request information is a necessary part of our regulatory toolkit and we take it very seriously when parties do not co-operate with us. People who ignore our notices asking them to provide information should expect us to launch a criminal prosecution.

‘As Smith has discovered, becoming compliant with our requests after a court summons has been served will not halt criminal proceedings.’

Report by Amy Austin