ADJUSTING the collar of his heavy wool overcoat to shield his ears from a biting February breeze, John O’Donoghue strode purposefully through the near deserted streets of the mid Kerry village of Miltown and made an immediate beeline for O’Shea’s pub.

BRITISH soft drinks group Britvic has said that it has maintained its market share levels in Ireland, but that the trading climate here remains “under pressure”.

FOLLOWING last week’s news that 145 jobs will be cut in its Irish division, Britvic said the contribution to group sales from Ireland fell by 2%, on a year-on-year basis, to €53.9m for the three months to the end of December.

BRITVIC, the British soft drinks manufacturer, has said that operating profits in its Irish division, for its current financial year, will fail to meet previous expectations.

A SOFT drinks plant in Cork is to close with the loss of 60 jobs, it was announced yesterday.

Drinks company C&C lead the forward march in Irish trading this morning as the company's shares rose 41c on foot of news that it has agreed a €250m deal-soft drinks deal with Britvic.

THE Gaelic Players Association and food and drink manufacturer C&C have defended their right to hand out free samples of their Club Energise drinks outside GAA grounds before championship matches this summer.

A spectacular television ad for the Ryder Cup will feature the most hi-tech special effects ever used in Ireland.

In its first interim report since its initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the ISEQ and the London Stock Exchange, C&C Group has said group turnover is up by about 4% while margins were "broadly unchanged".

DRINKS and snack food group C&C is to beef up its presence in Northern Ireland by spending €3 million on a new distribution and warehousing facility in Belfast.

C&C Group plc is to commence conditional dealing in Dublin with an opening price of €2.26 per share.

Investors were today preparing to tuck into food and drinks manufacturer C&C Group when it makes its debut on the London market later this month.

Food and drinks giant C&C Group is to float on the Dublin and London stock exchanges this summer, it was announced today.

Italian drinks company the Campari Group announced today it had purchased Barbero 1891 from Cantrell & Cochrane (C&C).

THE fizz was taken out of Cantrell & Cochrane yesterday after the drinks group pulled its stock market flotation.