Tennent’s owner C&C Group eyes World Cup lift and new product boost

The Irish drink firm’s Scots-born chief executive, Roger White, said the business was “getting our act together in terms of innovation” after positive responses to the likes of Tennent’s Bavarian Pilsner and Tennent’s Tops limited-edition lagers.

The firm is poised to kick off promotional activity ahead of this summer’s World Cup tournament, in support of Scottish football, and is anticipating a stronger performance than during the Euro 2024 finals when the tens of thousands of Scottish fans who travelled to Germany had a temporary impact on Tennent’s sales closer to home. A “Tennent’s finder app” is up and running for Scots fans heading to Boston in the US.

White, who took the helm at Dublin-headquartered C&C Group towards the end of January 2025, having previously led AG Barr, the Cumbernauld-headquartered maker of Irn-Bru, for 22 years, told The Scotsman: “It’s been a busy year for us at C&C with a lot of work internally - stabliising and improving our operations.

“The environment that we are operating in has been tough. The hospitality side of things in particular has been difficult. Consumers have been going out less and spending less when they are out. That has had a big impact on our wholesale business.

“However, the branded business has continued to be very resilient, in Tennent’s and Bulmers in particular. I think we are getting our act together in terms of innovation and being able to develop these brands over time.

“We have achieved quite a lot over the year but the financial performance doesn’t reflect this. We are very conscious of that but we are putting in a stronger base to build from.”

His comments came as C&C Group reported a net revenue decline of 5.7 per cent for the year to the end of February. The fall in sales came amid the planned exit of Budweiser Brewing Group contractual volume in Ireland, alongside “challenging hospitality market conditions”.

Operating profit before exceptional items came in at €70.5 million (£61.2m), down from €77.1m the year before, on net revenues of about €1.57 billion (£1.36bn). Net debt, excluding leases, jumped to €121.4m, from €80.9m a year earlier.

The group noted that its trading performance since the start of its new financial year had been in line with expectations.

In March, shortly after the close of the year under review, C&C announced the acquisition of the intellectual property (IP) of Innis & Gunn, the Edinburgh-based firm behind a range of ales, in an agreement worth £4.5m.

At the same time, joint administrators for the Innis & Gunn assets announced the closure of the firm’s Perth brewery and three taprooms.

Five years ago, C&C, which also owns drinks brands such as Bulmers, Drygate and Menabrea, acquired an 8 per cent equity stake in Innis & Gunn as part of a partnership agreement. However, the ties between the two companies date back to a manufacturing relationship struck in 2010, which saw Innis & Gunn’s beers produced and packaged at C&C’s Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow, as well as at its own brewery in Perth.

In its latest results and update, C&C noted that the integration of Innis & Gunn into its operating and commercial footprint had been delivered “seamlessly in the weeks following completion”.

White, who was one of Scotland’s longest-serving chief executives before he stepped down at AG Barr, said: “We were already doing the vast majority of the brewing at Wellpark and we will bring the balance of that brewing into either Wellpark or the smaller brewery at Drygate. Effectively [Innis & Gunn] has been integrated into the core business already and is now a brand in our portfolio. In terms of development there won’t be a whole lot happening for the balance of this year but we are working on it for the implementation of some new activity for next year. It’s an important brand.”

He added that the firm was looking to bring production of the popular Ossian golden ale into Drygate, noting that it was “just a question of timing”.

White also pointed to the continuing popularity of Sweetheart Stout, which was originally brewed by Younger of Alloa and is these days produced at Tennent’s famous Wellpark Brewery.

“Sweetheart Stout has decent distribution and a loyal fan base. We have historically done nothing with it but it’s an interesting low ABV, easy-to-drink fun product.”

On Tennent’s, C&C Group told investors: “Tennent’s achieved value growth in the year, in both on and off-trade channels. Consequently, the brand maintained its market leadership and once again grew share in the Scotland on-trade lager category.

“We have also invested further in innovation capability over the past 12 months, and we delivered the first tangible output from this investment from the launch of Tennent’s Bavarian Pilsner, the first innovation from this brand in several years.”

Greg Johnson, research analyst at brokerage Shore Capital, noted: “The group is continuing to make good progress on product innovation, along with the acquisition of Innis & Gunn, and reinvigorating the Magners brand, where results have been more encouraging of late.

“Although the trading backdrop remains challenging, management has reaffirmed expectations for operating profit to be broadly flat in [the new financial year]. We maintain our profit estimates at this stage, with further growth in branded to be offset by a modest decline in distribution.”

Innis & Gunn: Job losses and closures as Scottish craft brewer taken over by Tennent's owners