Britvic sees no recovery in Irish trade

DRINKS group Britvic said trading conditions are extremely difficult in Ireland with no signs of recovery as sales plunge 16% in the fourth quarter.

The soft drinks market in Ireland is proving particularly difficult for the British drinks firm. Pepsi, however, has bucked the trend and has been the fastest growing carbonate this year, with sales up 14%.

The pub sector is proving “incredibly challenging” for the company, with volume sales down 20%. Britvic said the pub sector in Britain is performing significantly better than in Ireland.