C&C has named Roger White as its next chief executive, ending a search that had kicked off in the summer after his predecessor stepped down when the firm had to restate a slew of earnings.
A former boss of UK drinks firm AG Barr, Mr White will take over from January 20th, the company said in a statement on Thursday. Chairman Ralph Findlay, who had led the company since previous boss Patrick McMahon stepped down, will return to a non-executive position.
“C&C has a unique business model, great brands and a committed team with the potential to create significant long-term value,” Mr White said. “I look forward to working with the board and the wider team to lead C&C through the next phase of its development.”
C&C shares rose 1.6 per cent in London.
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Mr White’s appointment comes against a backdrop of ongoing speculation that C&C, which counts Bulmers cider in Ireland and Tennent’s lager among its many brands, could be broken up. The company agreed a deal in August to grant activist investor Engine Capital, which had been pushing for a sale of the company, a board seat.
“Mr White has a strong executive pedigree and his branded business background, in our view, could hint to where the group will focus its long-term efforts should a break-up of the C&C group occur,” Goodbody analyst Patrick Higgins said in a research note.
Mr White was chief executive of Irn Bru-maker AG Barr for more than 20 years until May this year. Before AG Barr he held a number of positions at UK food group Rank Hovis McDougall.
“His experience is highly complementary from a sectoral, regional and PLC perspective,” Davy analyst Cathal Kenny wrote in a note. “His long tenure at AG Barr resulted in the creation of significant value for shareholders.”
The new CEO will earn an annual base salary of £650,000 (€785,902), and a pension allowance of 5 per cent of salary in line with the contribution available for C&C employees. He will also get a benefit allowance worth 7.5 per cent of his salary and maximum annual bonus opportunity of 125 per cent of it.
The appointment comes six months after Mr McMahon stepped down with immediate effect. That followed the company having to restate three years’ worth of accounts resulting in a net charge of €5 million. The restatement came after accounting errors that occurred during Mr McMahon’s time as chief financial officer. At the time Mr Findlay had planned to step into the CEO role for 12 to 18 months while a successor was found.
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