C&C Group, the Irish company behind Tennent’s, is expected to update on trading conditions and its recent acquisition of another Scottish brewer, Innis & Gunn, when it reveals full-year figures on Tuesday.
The Dublin company announced in March that it had bought the Innis & Gunn brand and associated intellectual property in a pre-pack administration for £4.5 million.
C&C already brews Innis & Gunn products at Tennent’s Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow and expects the acquisition to make a small positive contribution to its overall financial performance in full-year 2027.
It was revealed last month that loss-making Innis & Gunn owed creditors almost £20m when it collapsed.
In January C&C cut its profit forecast amid “weak” consumer confidence in the UK after reporting that it had been hit by “weak consumer confidence associated with the November UK Budget”. There had, the company said, been “softer than anticipated demand” in the hospitality sector.
Last week it announced it has merged its Matthew Clark and Bibendum businesses to “simplify” its on-trade distribution operations.
A “small number” of staff have left as part of the move, which the group said would be completed this summer.
Matthew Clark distributes products including beer, wine and spirits to UK on-premise clients. Bibendum focuses on wine.
Nationwide Building Society
On Thursday Britain’s biggest building society will deliver its first full financial year as the owner of Virgin Money which is acquired for £2.9 billion after controversially refusing its members a vote.
This helped trigger support for James Sherwin-Smith who will seek election to the mutual’s board at the group’s annual meeting in July.
The expanded Nationwide has leapfrogged NatWest to become the UK’s second-biggest mortgage lender and pushed the mutual into business banking.
Aside from the takeover, there has been a backlash to the substantial hike in CEO Debbie Crosbie’s pay package. She was paid £2.5 million in 2024-25 financial year and could receive as much as £6.9m for 2025-26.
M&S
Investors will be hoping M&S can draw a line under last year’s cyber-attack and provide a confident outlook, reaffirming the retailer’s turnaround, say AJ Bell’s analysts.
A material slowdown in the UK clothing market in the March quarter has not been helpful which is reflected in the shares recently plumbing new 12-month lows.
The recent acquisition of the former ASOS Lichfield warehouse is seen as a sign of management’s ambition to accelerate digital growth and scale.
M&S Food continues to show strength, consistently taking market share through premium convenience, innovation and a perception of value for money. Analysts will be keen to see healthy volume growth rather than price driven gains.
DIARY
Monday 18 May
- Rightmove house price index
Tuesday 19 May
- Full-year results from C&C Group, Cranswick
- UK unemployment and average earnings for March
Wednesday 20 May
- Full-year results from M&S, Experian and Currys
- UK inflation data for April
Thursday 21 May
- Full-year results from Tate & Lyle, BT, Nationwide Building Society
- Half-year results from Sage and EasyJet
Friday 22 May
- CBI Scotland spring lunch, Edinburgh
- GfK Consumer Confidence for May
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