Six months after Patrick McMahon stepped down as C&C Group CEO, the Irish beverages major has named his successor – and has turned to a drinks-industry veteran.
Roger White, the former chief executive at Irn-Bru maker AG Barr, is taking the helm at C&C Group next month, with his appointment being viewed positively in the City after a challenging couple of years for the Bulmers cider maker.
White spent 20 years as AG Barr's CEO before announcing in August he would be moving on, saying "now the time is right to plan for my succession and to ensure the continued success of the business". He left the Boost Drinks owner in May.
C&C Group had been on the hunt for a CEO since June when McMahon left the business in light of financial mistakes made in his time as CFO. McMahon had been at the company since 2017, becoming CFO in 2020. He was named C&C Group CEO in 2023 alongside news of a botched ERP software installation at the company.
Speaking on White’s appointment last week, chair Ralph Findlay, who had also held the C&C role since McMahon's departure, said White’s “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”.
C&C Group’s recent troubles
C&C Group's appointment of White has generally been seen by industry watchers as an encouraging sign for the company, given his experience in the drinks sector.
In a note to clients on Thursday, Shore Capital analyst Greg Johnson described the hiring of White “as a significant coup”.
"Mr White has an excellent track record with over two decades main board experience and expertise in the consumer goods and drinks sector, most notably as CEO AG Barr," Johnson wrote in a note to clients.
Including Findlay and former chair Stewart Gilliland's interim stint as executive chair, White will become C&C Group's sixth CEO since 2020. As a source who wished to remain anonymous said, it has been “a period of instability” for the owner of the Matthew Clark drinks distribution business.
Gilliland took the interim role of executive chair in early 2020 after the departure of Stephen Glancey. In November that year, Heineken executive David Forde was appointed CEO. Forde held the reins until May 2023 and the news of the ERP problems, when he was succeeded by McMahon – who then lasted just under a year as chief executive, stepping down from the group after the financial errors came to light.
The accounting mistakes cost the business €5m ($5.2m) across its 2021, 2022 and 2023 financial years. Meanwhile, the ERP software upgrade at its UK wholesale drinks businesses Matthew Clark and Bibendum resulted in a €25m charge in C&C Group's 2022/23 financial year.
IT troubles had already hit C&C’s distribution division in 2021 when both businesses were forced to shut down their computer systems after a cybersecurity attack.
In June, C&C then faced shareholder pressure when US hedge fund Engine Capital wrote to the group’s board, calling for a strategic review of the business, that was “aimed at a sale”.
The fund said “structural and self-inflicted issues” had resulted in the group’s “under-performance and valuation discount”.
Responding to Engine Capital’s woes, C&C Group said “underlying performance” had been in line with expectations.
Both parties eventually settled the issue in August, when the Tennent’s lager owner said it had agreed to work “constructively” with Engine Capital.
Newly appointed C&C Group CEO, Roger White. Credit: C&C Group
A new chapter
When C&C Group reported its half-year results in late October, there were signs of positivity after the company's recent troubled period.
In the six months ended 31 August, the group generated €861.4m in net revenue, a 2% dip on half-year figures for the year previous that were restated due to the accounting errors.
Operating profit stood at €28.5m, versus €34.1m a year earlier but grew when exceptional items were removed. C&C Group also pointed to adjusted EBITDA that it said increased 5.4% to €57m.
"I am pleased to report earnings in line with expectations in HY2025 as we rebuild performance and momentum within the business," Findlay said at the time.
C&C Group stood by its outlook and said it was “on track” to book €80m operating profit in the full year 2025, “with cost efficiencies in H1 to further enhance margins in H2”. It also reaffirmed its €100m operating profit goal for the 2027 financial year.
"With some of the challenges now 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," Shore Capital's Johnson said.
Nevertheless, while White looks to try to continue C&C Group's momentum, might he also consider more structural changes to the business?
The unnamed source told Just Drinks White could consider spinning off and selling C&C's distribution business. The source pointed to the changes made to AG Barr's distribution in the final months of White's tenure at the company.
Earlier this year, AG Barr announced plans to shake up the way it distributed products to symbol and independent retailers. It decided to move from a direct-to-store delivery model to "an enlarged and enhanced field sales operation with brands directly supplied through existing wholesale channels". More than 100 jobs were affected.
The savings and proceeds from a separation could then be reinvested back into brands, through marketing and an expansion of C&C’s portfolio, the source said.
"Roger is brand focused – he constantly reinvested in Irn-Bru’s image, turned around Rubicon and reinvigorated that brand to take it beyond the international food aisle, helped propel Funkin and saw the value in Boost Energy," the source added.
Set against this idea, however, are the backgrounds of C&C Group’s chair and CFO, who, as former Marston's executives, could value a presence in drinks distribution more highly, the source explained.
“Regardless, MCB [Matthew Clark, Bibendum] in particular has been such a headache for C&C/investors (see recent ERP disruption and the cyber security incident), I wouldn’t be surprised to see them at least consider an exit,” the source said.
For all that, given C&C Group's recent challenges, White’s appointment could bring some stability and help the company build on some of its more recent progress.
Johnson added: “In essence, we believe that C&C is a fundamentally sound business with strong brands, market-leading positions in Scotland and Ireland and unique last-mile capabilities in distribution. Importantly, the balance sheet continues to strengthen.”
"C&C Group looks to future with drinks-industry veteran at helm" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand.
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