Brewer Innis & Gunn boosts board with trio of appointments
Craft brewer Innis & Gunn has strengthened its board with three new appointments in the wake of US private equity firm L Catterton investing £15 million for a stake in the business.
Two of the new directors, Jean-philippe Barade and Caroline Folleas, work for L Catterton and the Edinburgh- based firm’s head of UK sales, Crawford Sinclair, has also been appointed.
Earlier this month L Catterton, which specialises in the consumer goods and retail sectors, acquired a stake of just under 28 per cent in the firm.
Barade is a partner and head of the the investor’s London office and Folleas is investment director.
Sinclair, who has played a key role in the launch of Innis & Gunn lager, will continue to lead the UK sales team as well as serving on the board.
He said: “Our ambition to grow the business is hugely exciting, and my goals are to strengthen our position in the UK market by building Innis & Gunn lager into the number one premium brand in Scottish on-trade, and leverage our unique portfolio of beers, backed up with excellent customer service and a brilliant team of people, to build distribution and sales across the UK.”
The investment by L Catterton is aimed at accelerating the group’s expansion with a target to double turnover between 2015 and 2018.
Founder Dougal Sharp remains the largest shareholder in the business.