JOHN Varley, who was born and bred in Skipton, has been appointed finance director at Timothy Taylor’s brewery.

John is a chartered accountant with over 20 years’ experience and joins from the Gravure division of Polestar, a Sheffield-based printer, where he is currently Finance Director.

He takes over from Steve Drinkwater, who has decided to retire after 20 years in charge of the numbers at Keighley-based Timothy Taylor’s.

John was educated at Ermysted’s Grammar School in Skipton and gained a first class honours degree at the University of Newcastle. He started out his accountancy career with KPMG and has since gained experience in a number of companies including a one-year contract in Melbourne, Australia.

John is looking forward to working for the company who brew his favourite pint and relishing the opportunity to move back into the Dales where some of his family still live.

Tim Dewey, chief executive of Timothy Taylor’s, said: "We set ourselves a tough task to find a replacement to Steve Drinkwater, who has given such excellent service to the company, but we are delighted to have found John, particularly given his local roots, and look forward to welcoming him to our business and our board.’’