From Irn-Bru to Tennent’s: Pay details revealed as Roger White named as new boss of drinks group C&C

Tennent’s owner C&C Group has hired Roger White, the former boss of Irn-Bru maker AG Barr, as its new chief executive.

White, who led Cumbernauld-headquartered AG Barr for 22 years until May of this year, will take on the top role at the Irish drinks group, whose other brands include Magners, Menabrea and Orchard Pig, on January 20.

C&C said existing chief executive and chairman Ralph Findlay would then return to the post of non-executive chairman, having taken over at the helm after former boss Patrick McMahon left abruptly in June in the wake of accounting errors which cost the firm millions of pounds.

Roger White was one of Scotland’s longest-serving chief executives before he stepped down at Irn-Bru maker AG Barr.

White, who was one of Scotland’s longest-serving chief executives before he stepped down at the famous soft drinks maker, said: “It is an exciting time to be joining the business. C&C has a unique business model, great brands and a committed team, with the potential to create significant long-term value. I look forward to working with the board and the wider team to lead C&C through the next phase of its development.”

As chief executive, White will receive an annual base salary of £650,000, a pension allowance of 5 per cent of salary in line with the contribution available for the group’s employees, a benefit allowance of 7.5 per cent of salary and maximum annual bonus opportunity of 125 per cent of salary.

A one-off long-term incentive plan grant of 150 per cent of base salary will be made on appointment, with “performance objectives linked directly to creating shareholder value”, C&C confirmed.

Findlay said: “I am delighted to announce our recruitment of Roger and look forward to welcoming him to C&C and to the board. An acknowledged high calibre leader, he will bring an exceptional combination of extensive branded drinks sector expertise, understanding of our markets and a proven track record of delivery.

“We look forward to working with Roger. His knowledge and insight will be of great relevance and invaluable to C&C as we continue the recent positive momentum underway within the business and progress our plans to deliver enhanced shareholder value.”

Greg Johnson, an analyst at brokerage Shore Capital, said: “We see the appointment of Mr White as a significant coup for C&C and complements the existing strong and experienced management team. With some of the challenges behind them, we believe C&C is well set to deliver a significant improvement in profitability, including through building margins in distribution, growing its premium drinks business and improving the performance of Magners in the UK.”

Speaking to The Scotsman in October, Findlay admitted that the market had faced “a number of challenges” in recent months but insisted the business was in a strong position ahead of the crucial Christmas trading period.

He added: “In terms of Tennent’s, to increase your market share by 5 per cent in the on-trade is actually quite an outstanding performance. Up until the Euros we had been trading ahead of the prior year and then the tournament came and we saw quite a dip.”

‘It’s a great business, it’s good fun’ - AG Barr boss bows out as Irn-Bru maker’s sales top £400 million