Britvic plots new products after flotation
its still soft drinks range, has announced plans to float on the
stock market by the end of the year.
Britvic, the UK's number two soft drinks maker after Coca-Cola, said the flotation would come on the back of strong growth from new products.
The group said its Robinsons Fruit Shoot was showing double-digit growth and had become the number one kids' drink since its launch in 2000, while its older J2O juice brand had benefited from being one of the first to tap into Britons' rising juice habit.
Paul Moody, Britvic's managing director, said the firm had "a strong track record, leading brands and a proven ability to innovate".
Britvic gets 28 per cent of sales revenue from the 11 new brands it has launched in the last eight years.
And the group, keen to show off its innovation credentials in fast-growing healthy drink segments, said it planned to focus on making more no added sugar variants of its drinks.
It is also planning to launch two new water brands next year, following its acquisition of Pennine Spring, to take on Britain's booming bottled water sector.
The proportion of British adults drinking bottled water increased from 35 per cent in 2000 to 54 per cent in 2004, according to a recent report from market research group Mintel.
Britvic's long-term distribution deal with PepsiCo should also give it a good footing. It has just managed to renew itself as the exclusive distributor of PepsiCo drinks in the UK for another 15 years.
This means Britvic will start distributing Gatorade, PepsiCo's blockbuster sports drink brand, in the UK next year.
Gatorade's strong double-digit growth in the third quarter helped PepsiCo to an eight per cent volume rise across its North American Beverages Division.
Coca-Cola also recorded strong sales growth from its own Powerade sports drink, emphasising the popularity of healthier drinks and the rise to prominence of sports drinks alongside juice and water.
There have been unconfirmed rumours this year that PepsiCo, which already owns five per cent of Britvic, may be looking to buy out the British soft drinks firm.
InterContinental Hotels currently controls Britvic with a 47.5 per cent share. Leisure group Whitbread and French drinks firm Pernod Ricard both control 23.75 per cent of shares each.
