C&C IS rumoured to be in the early planning stages concerning the partial sale of its non-core spirits and liqueurs division, in a move which could free up funding for a bid for another significant acquisition in Britain sometime next year.

A portrait by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec sold for £12.6m (€18.5m) today at a Christie’s sale of Impressionist and Modern paintings and sculptures, the highest auction price ever paid for a work by the artist.