Britvic announces floatation move

Soft drinks group Britvic was today set for life on the stock market after announcing plans to float with an estimated value of £800m (€1.2bn).

The maker of brands including Robinsons and Tango ranks behind only Coca-Cola in the market for fizzy and still soft drinks in the UK, generating sales of nearly £700m (€1.03bn) a year.

The company will be chaired by Gerald Corbett, who was chief executive of Railtrack from 1997-2000 and was in charge when the Hatfield rail crash occurred in 2000.

Ending months of speculation about a flotation move, InterContinental will sell its 47.5% stake in Britvic, while leisure firm Whitbread has also agreed to offload its 23.75% stake in the firm.

Pernod Ricard, which acquired a 23.75% holding through its acquisition of Allied Domecq earlier this year, will also sell up.

In the 12 months to October 2, Britvic made earnings before interest, tax and amortisation of £78.7m (€116m) on turnover of £698.2m (€1.03bn).

In addition to Robinsons and Tango, Britvic manufactures J2O and Fruit Shoot. It also produces and markets Pepsi and 7Up on behalf of the US drinks giant PepsiCo.

Next year will see Britvic begin delivering sports drink Gatorade around the UK.