Angostura deal likely soon, confirms Burn Stewart

Burn Stewart, the Scotch whisky group, has clarified the situation with regards to its potential acquisition by the CL Financial group. The UK group announced in April that it was in talks with CL which could potentially lead to the sale of the business, but until now has been decidedly quiet about the deal.

However, late last week the company confirmed that if an offer is made, it will be through Angostura, the Caribbean company in which CL has a stake and which is famous for its bitters, a popular ingredient in many cocktails.

"CL and Angostura are in the final stages of raising finance to enable an offer to be made and the board of Burn Stewart expects outstanding matters to reach a conclusion within the next few weeks,"​ Burn Stewart said in a statement. No further details were released and it is still unclear how much Angostura will bid for the whisky maker whose brands include Scottish Leader, Tobermory, Deanston and Ledaig.

Burn Stewart is clearly confident of a successful deal with CL because it has already changed its financial year end to 31 December from 30 June to coincide with that of its potential new owner. It also issued an interim report covering the 12 month period to 30 June, highlighting the fact that turnover increased by 13 per cent to £40.4 million (€64.4m) and that this in turn helped the company to cut its losses from £1.7 million to £0.78 million.

While the reduction in losses was welcomed, the company said it was disappointed not to have reached its target of breaking-even for the year. Poor economic conditions in Venezuela and the collapse of the Bolivar meant that this target was unattainable, not least because no shipments were made to that market at all in the second part of the year.

The firm was buoyed by good performances elsewhere, however, notably in South Africa where Scottish Leader was boosted by a substantial increase in distribution coverage, and also in the UK. The company added that the growing market for Scotch whisky in South Korea continued to represent an exceptional opportunity for the business and was one of the main drivers of the rise in turnover.