Heron and Brearley was formed in 1898 when Brothers Henry and James Crossley Brearley combined their wine and spirit business in Drumgold Street with that of the late George Chillwell Heron on Castle Street, Douglas.

Heron and Brearley represented a union of the best connected individuals in the Manx drinks trade, an arrangement that was consolidated by the simultaneous growth of co-operation between the Brearley family and the brewing interest of the Okell family.

Heron and Brearley had emerged as the Island's most significant drinks company by the early 1920s, and the firms ability to develop business contingencies and methods in advance of eventualities which might have threatened its trade, allowed the company to continue its unassailable rise.

Heron and Brearley exploited their intermediary position as wine and spirit merchants, and in so doing had fortified their connections with both Castletown Brewery and Okell's by 1927. It was agreed that Heron and Brearley should have sole right to provide wines and spirits, whilst the ales were provided by their partners.

Okells remained the longest established and most consolidated brewery on the Island. Originating from 1850, the company had formed a strategic alliance with Heron and Brearley, and in so doing had shared in benefiting from a dominating position in the Island’s drinks trade. In the late 1930s Castletown Brewery went on to establish itself as one of the Island's premier breweries, along with Okell's.

The period between 1914 and 1939 is the most important in the twentieth century, as it shaped the structure of the modern industry. The Island’s principal company Heron and Brearley, rapidly absorbed the stragglers and enjoyed varying levels of co-operation with all the surviving concerns except Clinches. The company’s survival was assured; a strong financial base, a large portfolio of property, strong presence in the rapidly emerging "off trade" and a position that was complimentary to almost all the industry’s surviving companies guaranteed Heron and Brearley’s longevity.

In 1946 Heron and Brearley purchased the shareholdings belonging to Okell's shareholders in a take over to gain control of the company. Then in 1986 Heron and Brearley made a bid for Castletown Brewery which was successful. The amalgamation of these three companies resulted in the change in name from Heron and Brearley to Isle of Man Breweries in 1987. In the same year the Group also acquired Island Automatics, a company providing amusement and facilities services to a wide customer base on the Island.

There were two main developments in 1989. Firstly, the directors of Isle of Man Breweries decided to offer for sale half of the estate of ninety eight pubs. By 2000 the number of pubs in the Island owned by Heron and Brearley was forty seven under management and nine under tenancy, and a programme of regular refurbishment each year was in place.

In 1992 all the major shareholders whom were Manx resident, were involved at board level for the first time since 1926. The company’s interest in expansion into the United Kingdom in 1998 received expressions of interest in its purchase from outside the Island, however all bids were declined. Finally in 1996 the company’s name was changed back to Heron and Brearley Limited.

Trade Distribution was started in 2000 managing the warehousing and distribution facility for the Isle of Man’s leading drinks wholesaler, Heron and Brearley. They have since aquired several subsidiaries of Onchan Haulage, ICD and Andy Glaister Haulage and continue to build a customer base outside the drinks trade.

Heron and Brearley now has over forty pubs in the managed estate, seven under tenancy and has expanded into the North West of England and Wales with four managed outlets and continues to look for business opportunities to aid its growth.