Prominent city business Invercargill Brewery has gone into receivership, leaving its owners "utterly gutted".

Receiver Trevor Laing said the company, based in Leet St, went into receivership on Monday "simply because it made a default in payments to a secure creditor."

"It's not meeting its debts as they fall due so it's technically insolvent."

JOHN HAWKINS/STUFF Amanda and Steve Nally ready to party in their Invercargill Brewery in 2017.

Directors Steve and Amanda Nally had put a huge amount of effort into the business, both financially and emotionally, he said.

"As you can imagine it's a pretty trying time for them."

Amanda Nally, in a one line statement, said: "At this stage we can't comment other than to say that we are utterly gutted."

Laing said he was unaware of the total amount owed by Invercargill Brewery and he was "trying to get to the bottom" of who was owed money.

It was early days in his investigations.

"I don't think there's a heap of places locally [owed money], it's more to do with financiers to some extent."

As a receiver, his main interest was to get the money out for the secure creditors, which included a bank, he said.

Invercargill Brewery, which Laing said had both fulltime and part-time staff, would continue trading with a view to the business being sold, he said.

"It's well set up and it's a tourist destination, it's got all sorts of things going for it."

The company had been operating in a different climate to other businesses of its like around the country.

"It's in a [licensing] trust area."

Invercargill Licensing Trust general manager Chris Ramsay said news of the brewery going into receivership was sad for the Nally family and the city.

The trust sold Invercargill Brewery product in its bottle stores, he said.

"It's been a really good product and unique to Invercargill and it's really sad to see it go."

The Invercargill brewery home page on the internet says Steve Nally leased a disused dairy shed near the city and set up business in 1999.

In 2005 the brewery outgrew the old blue dairy shed and moved to the former Kiwi Bacon factory at Wood St in Invercargill.

In 2013, Invercargill Brewery made the move to Leet St.

In August, the Nally couple told The Southland Times they were changing the company's business model to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape of New Zealand's brewing industry.

At that time the company was moving away from its focus on contract brewing and working towards its own on-site entertainment venue.

A post to the company home page last month says Invercargill Brewery was to be open more hours from January 21, "from noon to 4pm for a family-friendly Sunday- jam session".

The "eclectically themed space" at Invercargill Brewery was furnished with comfy old couches and chairs, patiently compiled in an 18-month-long op-shopping spree, the company home page says.

The brewery gained its on-license for events and functions in October and has been open every Friday night, as well as for special events and private functions.