Carlsberg Group completes acquisition of Britvic plc

The Carlsberg Group (“Carlsberg”) is announcing that its wholly owned subsidiary Carlsberg UK Holdings Limited has completed the acquisition of the leading international soft drinks business Britvic plc (“Britvic”) to create a single integrated beverage company in the UK. The combined business will be called Carlsberg Britvic.

In July 2024, Carlsberg announced the recommended offer to acquire Britvic plc. With the transaction now complete, we are excited to create a highly attractive supplier of beer and soft drinks in the UK with an efficient supply chain and distribution network that provides customers with a portfolio of market-leading brands and world-class service.

The transaction brings together an experienced and capable management team from both businesses that will drive attractive growth for the combined business.

With this acquisition, Carlsberg is also strengthening its existing relationship with PepsiCo, becoming its largest bottling partner in Europe.

Paul Davies, formerly CEO of Carlsberg Marston Brewing Company, will take up the position as CEO of the newly formed Carlsberg Britvic in the United Kingdom, effective 17 January 2025. Paul began his Carlsberg career in Marketing with Carlsberg UK in 2007 and has subsequently held the positions of VP Marketing and VP Sales for Carlsberg Sweden, and VP Craft & Speciality for Carlsberg Group in Copenhagen. In January 2019 he was appointed Managing Director of Carlsberg Poland, where he was also Chairman of the Polish Brewers Association.

Paul is supported in his role by the new Carlsberg Britvic Executive team:

• Tom Smethers, Chief Financial Officer
• Munnawar Chishty, Chief Marketing Officer
• Ben Parker, VP Sales – Off Trade
• Chris Pratt, VP Sales – On Trade
• Bruce Dallas, VP Commercial Growth
• Russell Goldman, Managing Director Breakthrough Brands
• Nigel Paine, VP Production
• Sarah Perry, VP Customer Supply Chain
• Deborah Preston, VP Human Resources
• Kathryn Partridge, VP Corporate Affairs and Sustainability
• Chris Hancock, VP Transformation and Integration

Elsewhere, Pedro Magalhães, retains his role as Managing Director of Britvic Brazil, and Kevin Donnelly retains his role as Managing Director of Britvic Ireland – with both markets now part of the Carlsberg Group.

Carlsberg Group CEO Jacob Aarup-Andersen says:

“The Britvic acquisition is a pivotal milestone in the history of Carlsberg as we deepen our commitment to the UK market and write an ambitious next chapter in our growth story. Soft drinks is an attractive category that also brings significant synergies in combination with beer. Britvic is a large-scale, well-established business with a strong portfolio of much-loved own and partnership brands that has consistently delivered strong results. 

“I’d like to congratulate our new senior leaders on their appointments today, and we’re delighted to welcome all our new Britvic colleagues to the Carlsberg Group. We look forward to enhancing our combined business across the UK and other markets, and to strengthening our existing ties with PepsiCo.”