C&C chairman to step down after July AGM

C&C Group chairman Brian Stewart is to leave his role after the company’s annual general meeting in July.

He will be replaced by Stewart Gilliland, a non-executive director at the Bulmers maker who joined in 2012.

Mr Gilliland is senior independent director at London-listed pubs and restaurants business Mitchells & Butlers, and is also a non-executive director of Tesco.

Mr Stewart is a former CEO of brewer Scottish & Newcastle, where current C&C boss Stephen Glancey also held a senior management role.

That company was eventually sold and split between Carlsberg and Heineken.

The change comes as C&C gears up for a renewed assault on the British market on foot of its acquisition of wholesaler Matthew Clark Bibendum, which will beef up C&C’s route to market in the so-called “on trade”, ie pubs and restaurants.

The company also recently took a minority stake in pub chain Admiral Taverns, which should also help boost its market footprint in the UK.

Its performance in Ireland has been less encouraging however, although Ireland will now accounts for a smaller portion of group profits at around 25pc after the Matthew Clark Bibendum deal.

Bulmers sales volumes were down 6pc in Ireland in the last financial year, fuelled by competitive pressure in the on trade.

The company is competing with Heineken’s Orchard Thieves cider, and the Dutch giant is also launching another new cider here called Appleman’s. C&C recently acquired 100pc of the Five Lamps brewery and is looking at opportunities to take the brewery’s craft lager outside the Irish market.