FDBusiness.com

C&C Group, a leading, vertically integrated premium drinks company which manufactures, markets and distributes branded beer, cider, wine, spirits and soft drinks across the UK and Ireland, has successfully issued the equivalent of approximately €140 million in Euro and Sterling of new US Private Placement (USPP) notes.

The unsecured notes, which represent C&C’s debut issue in the USPP market, have maturities of 10 and 12 years. The issue has achieved C&C’s aims of diversifying the sources of debt financing and extending their maturity out to 2032 on attractive terms. Covenants are aligned to those of the group’s existing debt facility.

Jonathan Solesbury, group chief financial officer, comments: “We are very pleased to have successfully completed our first US Private Placement, particularly against the backdrop of the current market uncertainty. The issue extends the maturity of our debt as well as diversifying our capital structure. It gives the Company access to a broader range of funding options in the future.”

C&C Group’s portfolio of owned/exclusive brands include: Bulmers, the leading Irish cider brand; Tennent’s, the leading Scottish beer brand; Magners the premium international cider brand; as well as a range of fast-growing, super-premium and craft ciders and beers, such as Heverlee, Five Lamps, Menabrea and Orchard Pig.

Headquartered in Dublin and listed on the London Stock Exchange, C&C Group has own brand and contract manufacturing/packing operations in County Tipperary, Ireland; Glasgow, Scotland; and Vermont, United States, where it manufactures Woodchuck, a leading craft cider brand. The group’s Magners and Tennent’s brands are exported to over 60 countries worldwide.

C&C Group is the leading drinks distributor to the UK and Ireland hospitality sectors. Operating under the Matthew Clark, Bibendum, Tennent’s and C&C Gleeson brands, C&C Group supplies over 35,000 pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels, and is a key route-to-market for major international beverage companies.

C&C Group also has a minority investment in the Admiral Taverns tenanted pub group, which owns over 1,000 pubs across England and Wales.