Irn-Bru maker AG Barr swallows two ‘adult’ soft drink brands for more than £50 million

The Cumbernauld-headquartered group unveiled the acquisitions as it reported a “strong” financial year, with increases in sales and profitability.

It told shareholders it had completed a deal for around £38m to buy Fentimans, in a move funded through a combination of cash and debt. Meanwhile, Barr confirmed that it had closed a deal at the end of its financial year to January to buy Devon-based juice business Frobishers for £13m.

Barr, which is due to release its full-year results at the end of March, said in its trading update that it had delivered a strong performance in the financial year 2025/26, in-line with expectations.

During the year, the maker of “Scotland’s other national drink” outlined its key strategic drivers, including brand innovation pipeline development, channel expansion initiatives and investment in operational capabilities. It told investors that good progress had been made in these areas and the new financial year is expected to be “a year of building momentum”.

With regard to the latest acquisitions, the group said: “Both brands operate in the attractive adult soft drinks market, which is benefitting from the consumer trend of reduced alcohol consumption.

“These acquisitions reflect the execution of further meaningful and targeted M&A [mergers and acquisitions] to elevate growth through broadening the brand portfolio while providing opportunities for cost synergies.”

The firm, whose other brands include Rubicon and Boost, flagged full-year revenue growth of about 4 per cent to some £437m. Adjusted operating margin is now in the region of 14.7 per cent, up from 13.6 per cent a year earlier.

Barr pointed to continued investment in its manufacturing sites, improving both capacity and capability, delivered “as planned and on budget”.

Chief executive Euan Sutherland said: “We are pleased to report a strong year that highlights delivery of our strategic priorities.

“Our top and bottom line performance for [full-year] 2025/26 is in line with expectations, and importantly we have laid strong foundations for future growth. We enter FY26/27 with good momentum in our core brands and from the introduction of exciting new products.

“In-line with our strategy of enhancing our organic growth with M&A, we are delighted to announce the acquisitions of Fentimans and Frobishers. The synergies associated with these acquisitions are expected to drive meaningful accretion over the medium term.

“Underpinning all our activity is our consistent focus on efficiency, margin and growing shareholder returns,” he added.

Darren Shirley, an analyst at house brokerage Shore Capital, noted: “AG Barr’s statement confirms robust trading and announces the acquisition of two well-known brands in the UK adult soft drinks market - Frobishers and Fentimans.

“With both transactions just completed, we will update forecasts at the [full-year] results on March 31, though management sees healthy upside from synergies, the elimination of third-party manufacturing (similar to Boost) and medium-term sales growth in an attractive category.

“Strong strategic and financial progress has been delivered in [the financial year], with Barr again flexing its balance sheet to tilt an already attractive brand portfolio further into growth.”

In September, AG Barr revealed stronger sales and profits on the back of price increases and robust demand for its growing product line-up. It said it saw particularly strong sales of energy and sports drinks over the past six months.

Sutherland said the business has made “good progress” in setting itself up for long-term growth.

Barr told investors that first-half revenues had risen 3.1 per cent to £228.1m during the 26 weeks to July 26, compared with the same period a year earlier. Statutory pre-tax profits jumped by 41.4 per cent to £35.2m.

The group said revenue growth was largely driven by “pricing actions taken in the first quarter”, which temporarily impacted sales volumes, although these picked up later in the half. Demand for sports drinks, energy drinks and water have helped support growth despite “subdued” consumer confidence, Barr noted.

It also highlighted positive sales for the Boost energy drink brand it bought in 2022, which recorded double-digit growth.

The company also said it has seen growth in health-focused functional drinks across the UK, and aims to expand in this area following its deal to buy a majority stake in Innate-Essence, the parent firm of The Turmeric Co, in July.

Last March, Barr reported record annual sales of more than £420m. It said the 5.1 per cent jump in sales was accompanied by a double-digit hike in profits and came despite “challenging market conditions”.

The group also announced plans to “discontinue” its Strathmore bottled water brand, leading to the closure of a small manufacturing site.

The results for the year to January 25, 2025 showed that revenues topped £420.4m, up from £400m a year earlier. Adjusted profit before tax came in at £58.5m, a 15.8 per cent increase from £50.5m in the prior period. On a statutory basis, pre-tax profits nudged up 3.7 per cent to £53.2m.

As part of the firm’s “progressive dividend policy”, the board recommended a final dividend of 13.76p per share, bringing the proposed total pay-out for the full year to 16.86p - up 12 per cent on the year before.

Irn-Bru - the company’s most famous product - is now said to be one of the top five carbonated soft drinks in the UK, thanks to a concerted push south of the Border in recent years.

Irn-Bru maker AG Barr buys health shots firm for £15m after selling Scottish business