AS Bryden acquires controlling stake in Barbados premium rum trader
A.S. BRYDEN & Sons Holdings Limited, also known as Bryden Group, has acquired a 55 per cent controlling stake in Stansfeld Scott (Barbados) Limited, SSB, adding to its spirits portfolio.
A leading distributor and retailer of wines, spirits and consumer health products in Barbados, SSB is an 89-year-old company with deep roots in that country. The company remains connected to Stansfeld Scott International, and distributes brands such as El Dorado and Plantation rums.
For the next six months, marketing expert David Franco will assume the role of interim CEO of SSB, effective March 6. Brian Cabral, the outgoing chairman of SSB, will retain an ownership interest in the spirits distributor and remain a director.
Bryden Group CEO Richard Pandohie, who is currently travelling, said from Tokyo, Japan, that from the time of Bryden’s listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange last November, its new owners, Seprod Group, had indicated that the company was eyeing expansion to Barbados and Guyana. The SSB acquisition falls in line with those plans, Pandohie said.
Jamaican distribution and manufacturing company Seprod Limited acquired Trinidad-based Bryden Group two years ago, and Pandohie doubles as the CEO of both companies.
“This move in Barbados is definitely a manifestation of that. We’re very consistent in what we’re doing, in that we want to build out a regional business, as opposed to a one-country or two-country operation. This is just a continuation of that,” Pandohie told the Financial Gleaner, as he hinted at further moves.
” Remember, we’ve also said that we’re looking at opportunities in Guyana. This should not be a surprise,” he said.
SSB is a leading distributor and retailer of wines, spirits and consumer health products in Barbados. In addition to El Dorado and Plantation, SSB’s product portfolio includes Glenfiddich whisky, Stolichnaya vodka, Banrock Station and Lamothe Parrot wines, Twining’s teas, Haliborange vitamins and Endura Malt. The company also operates six Wine World retail stores across Barbados. The transaction will allow Bryden Group to expand its premium beverage business outside of Trinidad for the first time, a company release on the Jamaica Stock Exchange said.
The cost of the acquisition was not disclosed.
Pandohie notes that SSB is deeply involved in distributing premium liquor, which is complementary to Bryden’s focus.
“If you look at Byden’s portfolio, which has Moet et Chandon, Hennessy, Johnnie Walker and the like, it is consistent with what we do in Trinidad in focusing on the premium end of the market,” he said.
The transaction will allow Bryden Group to expand its premium beverage business outside of Trinidad for the first time.
Stansfeld Scott International, a master distributor of wines and spirits across the Caribbean and Central America that’s also owned by Brian Cabral and his partners, Jayshree Kessaram and Indra Cabral, will not be impacted by this transaction.
“Brian Cabral, his family and his team have spent decades carefully building Stansfeld Scott into the highest quality wines and spirits distributor and retailer in Barbados. We look forward to joining forces and using A.S. Bryden’s resources to serve Stansfeld Scott’s employees, customers and its principals,” said Bryden Group Chairman Paul Scott.