Britvic splashes out £54.5m for Brazilian juice maker

Soft drinks giant Britvic is to acquire Brazilian juice firm Bela Ischia for £54.5 million as it forges ahead with international expansion.

Britvic expects to squeeze out 'substantial' savings following the deal. Picture: Contributed

It marks the latest deal for the Robinsons squash maker in Brazil – which it describes as the “world’s largest concentrates market” – having snapped up another juice firm, Ebba, in 2015.

Britvic said: “The consolidation of liquid concentrates and ready-to-drink juice will allow Britvic to strengthen its competitive offer, in particular against the larger powders brands. The acquisition is highly synergistic, with the combined businesses expected to realise substantial cost savings.

“The strong first year in Brazil reinforces our confidence in Brazil as a market place for Britvic products.”

The comments regarding Brazil are in stark contrast to those made about the UK market. In November Britvic said it was ramping up cost-cutting plans as it warned 2017 would be another “challenging” year amid rising inflation from the Brexit-hit pound.

The soft drinks group, which also bottles Pepsi in the UK, announced it would shave another £5m off its annual costs.

Chief executive Simon Litherland has said that the vote to quit the EU and the sugary drinks tax from April 2018 have “created additional uncertainty”.

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