Britvic closes Irish licensed wholesale arm

Britvic is to close its Irish licensed wholesale business, Counterpoint.

The drinks giant, which includes Ballygowan and MiWadi, took the decision following a review announced at the end of last year.

The company said a combination of tightened margins in the licensed wholesaling market and severe contraction in on-trade, exacerbated by Covid-19, lay behind the decision.

Britvic will now manufacture and market soft drinks via wholesale partnerships with other wholesalers.

The drinks maker said it is fully committed to the Irish market through the 400 employees that it still has in Ireland and that the closure of Counterpoint will allow Britvic to exit alcohol wholesaling, which is margin dilutive.

Counterpoint employed 44 people at its Dublin HQ and the company said it will do “all we can to continue to support impacted employees”.

Sign up to our newsletter and get all the latest LCN content here >>>http://eepurl.com/deVWKL