Roger White swapped soft drinks for the alcoholic variety
The former Irn-Bru boss postponed his retirement for a crack at growing Tennent’s lager, writes TERRY MURDEN
Roger White was enjoying a road trip through Spain, relaxing into retirement after a long career at the helm of Irn-Bru manufacturer AG Barr, when he took a phone call that would quickly lead to a change of plan. The caller wanted to know if he was interested in taking on another big challenge.
C&C Group, the Dublin-based drinks group whose principal products are the cider brands Bulmers and Magners, and the top-selling Scottish lager Tennent’s, was looking for a chief executive.
“I thought about it,” he says. “I had been clear that I wanted a break, but I knew about the business and the brands and I felt I had the energy and ability to help.”
He led Cumbernauld-based AG Barr for 22 years, one of the longest tenures at any listed company, transforming the FTSE 250 firm from a regional player to a national group via a series of acquisitions such as Rubicon, Funkin, Boost and Moma Foods.
Seven months after leaving Barr’s Cumbernauld factory for the last time, he headed for Ireland, swapping soft drinks for the alcoholic variety and a company that is more than three times as big with a €1.66bn turnover and 2,750 employees.
Asked how he is settling in, he says: “It is a slightly different business model, but both companies put liquid into packaging,” adding that there are important differences in that C&C has a big wholesale operation and “the on-trade business is more complicated than retail”.
He was appointed on a base salary of £650,000 and a maximum annual bonus opportunity of 125% of earnings and was seen as a good fit by food and drinks analysts. Shore Capital’s Greg Johnson said it was a “significant coup” for C&C and his first day was met with a jump in the share price, always an encouraging sign.
It also came after a troubled two years for the company which included a botched IT upgrade in its distribution arm and historic accounting errors. Together with declining alcohol consumption, the company was under pressure to find a buyer, though it managed to return to profitable growth and opted to find a new leader.
White emerged as the ideal candidate and in his first annual results statement he was able to announce a 17% rise in pre-exceptional operating profit of €77.1m (FY2024: €60m), and a similar rise in adjusted pre-tax profit to €55.9m (€38.8m), representing a significant recovery in year-on-year earnings
However, he will have to wait until the half-year figures, or next year’s prelims to claim the credit for any further increase. Even so, he has inherited a business that is already improving, giving him some firm foundations on which to build the brands.
White is the fifth CEO at the company in as many years, a reflection of its recent volatile history. Following the latest results he told analysts that “complex operating models, poor systems, and a lack of execution focus have dogged the business” and said he would embark on bringing “simplicity and executional focus” to it.
He has identified opportunities to grow C&C’s stable of brands that are well known on both sides of the Irish Sea, though he appeared to rule out Tennent’s leading a consolidation of the sector. Instead, there will be a brand update.
“One in every two pints sold in Scotland is Tennent’s lager,” he says, referring to it somewhat euphemistically as having a “loyal following”. Despite its grip on the market, it managed to eke out another rise over the last financial year.
“There is an opportunity to do more with it, investing in innovation and development of the brand” he says, though he rules out a return of T in the Park, the outdoor festival. “I don’t think that is on our list. Trnsmt has taken over.”
Alcohol consumption may be declining, but within the segment he sees only growth. He also acknowledges the need to confront health issues around the food and drink industry. When Irn-Bru was reformulated because of the imposition of the soft drinks industry levy, which cut sugar content by half, AG Barr claimed customers would not notice the difference. But they did and three years later White reintroduced the original formula.
However, he recognises the industry’s need to respond to health concerns and there are similar challenges in the alcohol trade.
“Whether it is sugar, salt, ale…we follow the guidelines. We all have to be responsible in how we market our products,” he says.
In the low-alcohol segment he acknowledges progress made by Heineken and fellow Irish brewer Guinness which uses its 00 brand to sponsor the Six Nations rugby tournament. Tennent’s own zero product will get more attention, though it is a tiny part of its sale.
“It is part of the reason for a bit of a refresh [of Tennent’s],” he says. “It is growing but from a small base, mainly in the take-home market. We have to make sure the product is the best it can be.”
White still lives in Edinburgh and says he splits his time between the Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow, Bristol, London, and two or three days a month in Dublin.
After such a long time at AG Barr, does he miss the company?
“I miss the people,” he says. “I had a great team and I am delighted to see the business continuing to do well.”
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