Britvic

Britvic
Public
Traded as LSE: BVIC
OTCQX: BTVCY
Industry Soft drinks
Founded Mid nineteenth century
Headquarters Hemel Hempstead, Herts, UK
Key people
 Gerald Corbett, Chairman
Simon Litherland, Chief Executive
Products Britvic 55
Robinsons
Tango
J2O
UK and Ireland licensee of PepsiCo products
Revenue £1,300.1 million (2015)[1]
£169.0 million (2015)[1]
£103.8 million (2015)[1]
Website www.britvic.co.uk

Britvic plc (LSE: BVIC) is a British producer of soft drinks based in Hemel Hempstead. It is the number two soft drinks producer (by volume and retail sales value) in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It produces soft drinks under its own name and holds the licence to sell others such as Pepsi in the UK.

History

The company was founded in the mid-nineteenth century in Chelmsford as the British Vitamin Products Company.[2] It started producing fruit juices in 1938 and started marketing them under the Britvic name in 1949.[3]

Acquired by Showerings of Shepton Mallet, and subsequently a division of Allied Breweries from 1968, the company changed its name to Britvic in 1971. In 1986 it merged with Canada Dry Rawlings and acquired the R. White's Lemonade brand. It acquired Tango and the Corona brand from Beechams in 1987 and since that year it has also owned the UK franchise for Pepsi and 7 Up.[4] In 1995 it bought Robinson's from Reckitt & Colman.[5]

In December 2005 the Company underwent an initial public offering (IPO) allowing its main shareholders (InterContinental Hotels Group, Whitbread, Pernod Ricard) to realise their investments.[6]

In May 2007 the Company went on to buy the soft drinks and distribution businesses of Ireland's Cantrell & Cochrane (C&C) for £169.5m.[7]

On 14 November 2012 the company announced plans to merge with Scotland's soft drink's producer A.G. Barr, whose brands include Irn Bru, Tizer and D'n'B, which would have created one of Europe's largest soft drinks companies.[8] The merger was put into serious doubt[9][10][11] after the Office of Fair Trading referred the merger to the Competition Commission.[12] On 11 July 2013, AG Barr Chairman Ronnie Hanna announced that the proposed merger of Britvic and AG Barr had been abandoned. Hanna said: "While we are disappointed that the opportunity to create significant value for both sets of shareholders has been rejected, the Board of AG Barr has every reason to be confident of its position as a stand-alone company."[13]

Operations

Britvic House, the old Britvic headquarters in Chelmsford

Although most of its operations are concentrated in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Company's international arm is expanding and it now exports to over 50 countries. Corporate headquarters moved from Chelmsford, Essex to Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire in March 2012.[14] There are regional offices in Dublin and France.

United Kingdom

The company owns a number of leading brands in the UK including Britvic itself, R. White's Lemonade, Tango, Robinson's and J2O – as well as being the licensed bottler for PepsiCo products within the UK. In 2008 Britvic launched Gatorade in the UK, after securing the rights to do so from PepsiCo. In May 2010, Britvic launched a UK exclusive drink called Mountain Dew Energy. It tastes much the same as its American counterpart, but has higher sugar content.

Ireland

Britvic facility in Gortrush Industrial Estate in Northern Ireland (2008)

After their failed IPO C&C's sold their soft drink brands to Britvic, resulting in the company now owning a number of leading brands in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, including, Ballygowan water, Britvic, Cidona, MiWadi, and Energise Sport as well as the rights to Pepsi and 7 Up brands in the territory through its bottling agreements with PepsiCo.

France

Britvic bought Fruité Enterprises in May 2010 for £298 million.[15] It has since renamed the business Britvic France. It is mainly a fruit juice business, unlike the GB&I businesses that focus on soft drinks.

Current brands

Current brands are as follows:[16]

Cordials

Water

Carbonated soft drinks

Other

Canned fruit juices by Britvic (2011)
In the UK and Ireland, the old Gatorade logo is still in use.

Licensed from PepsiCo

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2015". Britvic. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  2. ↑ Britvic to close Chelmsford factory and put hundreds out of work BBC, 22 May 2013
  3. ↑ 500 staff – and Britvic chief – face axe in merger with AG Barr The Independent (London), 15 November 2012
  4. ↑ A simple approach to coaching makes a difference at Britvic Coaching & Mentoring Network
  5. ↑ Chief sets Robinsons enigma Campaign, 17 May 1996
  6. ↑ Britvic IPO to value drinks group at up to £537m Financial Times (London), 25 November 2005
  7. ↑ Britvic Agrees to Buy C&C's Soft-Drinks Division CNBC, 14 May 2007
  8. ↑ AG Barr and Britvic agree to merger BBC, 14 November 2012
  9. ↑ "UPDATE 1-Britvic merger with A.G. Barr under threat". Reuters. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  10. ↑ Ruddick, Graham (13 February 2013). "AG Barr and Britvic merger thwarted by the Office of Fair Trading". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  11. ↑ "Britvic's AG Barr merger referred to competition authorities". This is Money. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  12. ↑ "OFT refers soft drinks merger to Competition Commission - The Office of Fair Trading". Oft.gov.uk. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  13. ↑ "AG Barr abandons bid for Britvic". BBC News. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  14. ↑ Dawson, Freddie (23 March 2012). "Britvic to create 30 jobs in HQ move". foodmanufacture.co.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  15. ↑ Britvic sales juicier despite the weather Archived 20 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine. London Evening Standard, 27 January 2011
  16. ↑ "Our brands". britvic.com. Retrieved 24 March 2015.

External links

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