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Britvic

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Britvic plc
Company typePublic
LSE: BVIC
FTSE 250 Component
IndustrySoft drinks
Founded1938; 86 years ago (1938)
HeadquartersHemel Hempstead, England, UK
Key people
ProductsFruit Shoot
Licensee:
Lipton
Brands
Club Orange
RevenueIncrease £1,748.6 million (2023)[1]
Decrease £181.5 million (2023)[1]
Decrease £124.0 million (2023)[1]
Number of employees
4,537 (2023)[1]
SubsidiariesRobinsons
Websitebritvic.com

Britvic plc is a British producer of soft drinks based in Hemel Hempstead, England. 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, as well as several other brands.

History

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Canned fruit juices by Britvic (2011)

The company was founded in the 1930s in Chelmsford as the British Vitamin Products Company.[2][3] It started producing fruit juices in 1938 and started marketing them under the Britvic name in 1949.[4] 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.[5] In 1995, it bought Robinson's from Reckitt & Colman.[6]

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.[7] In May 2007, the Company bought the soft drinks and distribution businesses of Ireland's Cantrell & Cochrane (C&C) for £169.5m.[8]

On 14 November 2012, the company announced plans to merge with Scottish soft drink producer A.G. Barr, the maker of brands including Irn-Bru, Tizer and D'n'B, which would have created one of Europe's largest soft drinks companies.[9] The merger was put into serious doubt[10][11] after the Office of Fair Trading referred it to the Competition Commission.[12] On 11 July 2013, A.G. Barr chairman, Ronnie Hanna, announced that the proposed merger had been abandoned.[13]

In May 2017, PepsiCo announced that it had decided to sell its long-held 4.5 per cent stake in Britvic.[14]

On 8 July 2024, it was announced that the Danish Carlsberg Group would buy Britvic. Upon completion, Britvic will rebrand under the Carlsberg umbrella, with the brewery company becoming the biggest PepsiCo drink licenser in the world. The acquisition will be completed by 2025. It is expected that, once the sale is complete, Britvic will be combined with the operations of the Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company (CMBC). A review of the business will then take place and employees and stakeholders will be notified of the future of the new entity when appropriate.[15][16][17]

Operations

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Britvic House, the old Britvic headquarters in Chelmsford

Most of the company's operations are concentrated in the United Kingdom and Ireland and the company exports to over 50 countries. Its corporate headquarters moved from Chelmsford, Essex to Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, in March 2012.[18]

United Kingdom

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The drink brands the company owns in the UK include Britvic mixers, 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 specific version of the popular drink, Mountain Dew Energy. It tastes similar to its American counterpart, but has a lower caffeine and sugar content.[19]

Ireland

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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 brands in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, including, Ballygowan Water, Britvic, Cidona, MiWadi, and Energise Sport as well as the rights to the Pepsi and 7 Up brands in the territory through its bottling agreements with PepsiCo.[20]

France

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Britvic bought Fruité Entreprises in May 2010 for £298 million. 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.[21]

Brazil

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In 2015, Britvic acquired ebba (Empresa Brasileira de Bebidas e Alimentos SA), located in São Paulo,[22] and in 2017 Bela Ischia, located in Rio de Janeiro.[23]

Current brands

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Current brands are as follows:[1]

Dilutes

  • Robinsons
  • BritviC
  • MiWadi (Ireland)
  • Ebba (Brazil)
  • Dafruta (Brazil)
  • Maguary (Brazil)

Water

  • Aqua Libra
  • Arto LifeWTR
  • Ballygowan
  • Drench

Carbonated soft drinks

Other

  • Bela Ischia (Brazil)
  • Energise Sport (Ireland)
  • Amé
  • J2O
  • J2O Spritz
  • Fruité (France)
  • Maguary (Brazil)
  • Maguary Fruit Shoot (Brazil)
  • Moulin De Valdonne (France)
  • Natural Tea (Brazil)
  • Pressade (France)
  • Puro Coco (Brazil)
  • Robinsons Fruit Shoot
  • Robinsons Fruit Shoot Hydro
  • Robinsons Fruit Shoot Juiced
  • Robinsons Refresh’d
  • Robinsons Fruit Creations
  • Robinsons Squash’d
  • Teisseire (France)
  • Teisseire Fruit Shoot (France)
  • Teisseire Fruit Shoot Au Jus (France)

Licensed from PepsiCo

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). Britvic. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Where we operate". Britvic. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  3. ^ Britvic to close Chelmsford factory and put hundreds out of work BBC News, 22 May 2013
  4. ^ 500 staff – and Britvic chief – face axe in merger with AG Barr The Independent (London), 15 November 2012
  5. ^ A simple approach to coaching makes a difference at Britvic Coaching & Mentoring Network
  6. ^ "Robinsons - Long linked with the Wimbledon tennis championships, the drinks-maker is today about more than barley water". Campaign Live. 1 August 2002. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  7. ^ Britvic IPO to value drinks group at up to £537m Financial Times (London), 25 November 2005
  8. ^ Britvic Agrees to Buy C&C's Soft-Drinks Division CNBC, 14 May 2007
  9. ^ AG Barr and Britvic agree to merger BBC News, 14 November 2012
  10. ^ "UPDATE 1-Britvic merger with A.G. Barr under threat". Reuters. 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "OFT refers soft drinks merger to Competition Commission - The Office of Fair Trading". Oft.gov.uk. 13 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  13. ^ "AG Barr abandons bid for Britvic". BBC News. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  14. ^ "PepsiCo Plans To Sell All Of Its 4.5% Stake In Britvic". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  15. ^ Corser, John (9 July 2024). "Beer giant fails to commit to future of Wolverhampton brewery after Marston's sale announced". www.expressandstar.com.
  16. ^ Wehring, Olly (8 July 2024). "Carlsberg gets green light for Britvic acquisition". Global Drinks Intel. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Carlsberg agrees £3.3bn takeover fee of Britvic - Drinks International - The global choice for drinks buyers". drinksint.com. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  18. ^ Dawson, Freddie (23 March 2012). "Britvic to create 30 jobs in HQ move". foodmanufacture.co.uk. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  19. ^ "Britvic launches Mountain Dew Energy". Just Drinks. 31 March 2010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  20. ^ "Britvic Ireland returns to growth". Irish Examiner. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  21. ^ "Britvic to buy France's Fruite for €237m". The Daily Telegraph. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  22. ^ "Britvic enters Brazilian market as it snaps up soft drink maker Ebba". The Daily Telegraph. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Britvic to acquire Brazilian juice firm Bela Ischia for £54.5m". Irish News. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
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