Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) plans to develop Glenmorangie to double the profits of the Scottish malt whisky distiller in the next few years.

Mr Cristophe Navarre, head of the group's Moet-Hennessy wine and spirits business, said the £300 million (€434.6 million) friendly acquisition of Glenmorangie was part of the French company's global strategy of strengthening its leading position in the "super premium" segment of the wine and spirits market.

He said the price LVMH was paying was "coherent with the potential of the brand". The pure malt whisky market remained "very dynamic", growing in volume by 5.5 per cent during the past five years and by 7.2 per cent in value. Glenmorangie had seen its profits grow by 14 per cent during the same period, Mr Navarre said.

Adding Glenmorangie to the group's portfolio of top brands was a "huge opportunity we could not miss", he said. He also confirmed Glenmorangie's current management led by chief executive Mr Paul Neep would continue to run the company. "They are doing a good job and we believe if we combine their know-how with ours we can double profits in coming years - and I don't mean in 10 years time," he said.

"We want to develop the brand, keeping the management and bringing it into our decentralised business model based on a house concept whereby the head of each of our separate houses drives his own company."

Mr Navarre said he believed the French group would help Glenmorangie's penetration in Asian and US markets. - (Financial Times Service)