‘No categoric guarantees’ on 1,000 division jobs

THE chief executive of Britvic Paul Moody said yesterday he could not make a decision at this stage on the 1,000 jobs in C&C’s soft drinks division which the firm plans to buy for nearly €250m.

“I cannot give categoric guarantees on the jobs situation at this stage,” he told the Irish Examiner.

The time between the initial approach and the offer being tabled was less than a month and it is understood the group will need time to fully assess its future requirements in the years ahead.

The group has confirmed the integration of the two businesses will cost €25m over three years and to produce annual savings of €14m.

Britvic was confident, he said, given it is buying into a market that has the strongest economy in Europe and whose prospects remain positive in the medium term.

Soft drinks sales in Ireland are growing at the rate of 3% per annum and disposable consumer income has been growing steadily for several years with consumer spending set to grow by 7.5% according to the Central Bank.

“Our ambition is to continue to drive the growth of the business and that’s where our focus will be,” he said.

As a result of the deal the Chelmsford-based company will control the Britvic brand in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic along with Ballygowan water and the Club range of soft fruit drinks.

If sanctioned, the deal will also provide Britvic with a opportunity to accelerate earnings in both markets, he said.

It also provides synergies across the expanded range of products, he said.

Most of the focus has been on the future of C&C, but the acquisition of Ballygowan which has proved such a massive success in Ireland is expected to provide the group with significant growth opportunities in Britain where bottled water is a rapidly growing market segment.

In 2006, Britvic sold 1.4 billion litres of soft drinks in Britain delivering to 4,000 customers.

Turnover was close to £680 million (€994m) last year, while it employs more than 2,700 people.