AG Barr has staked £50m on the “attractive” adult soft drinks market, in a double acquisition of soft drinks and mixers brand Fentimans and premium juice brand Frobishers Juices.
“Double-digit” profit growth at the Scottish drinks group helped fund the deals, with Frobishers’ £13m price tag paid entirely from AG Barr’s net cash position at the end of 2025.
Acquiring Fentimans for £38m on 2 February, in the new financial year, AG Barr will integrate both brands by the end of 2026, with efficiencies expected to come through in the second half of the year as it eliminates third-party manufacturing.
AG Barr revealed the acquisitions in a trading update this morning, explaining the “attractive” adult soft drinks market was benefiting from consumer trends towards lower alcohol consumption.
“These acquisitions reflect the execution of further meaningful and targeted M&A to elevate growth through broadening the brand portfolio while providing opportunities for cost synergies,” the company added.
AG Barr also revealed revenues had grown around 4% to £420m in the year, with adjusted operating margin increasing 1.1bp to 14.7% “driven by benefits from ongoing efficiency initiatives and supply chain investment”.
Irn-Bru delivered modest growth in H2 thanks to marketing investment, after a flat H1. A “strong brand activity pipeline” including redesigns of Irn-Bru and Rubicon will aim for further growth through 2026.
“We are pleased to report a strong year that highlights delivery of our strategic priorities,” said CEO Euan Sutherland, adding the company had laid “strong foundations for future growth”.
“We enter FY26/27 with good momentum in our core brands and from the introduction of exciting new products.
“In line with our strategy of enhancing our organic growth with M&A, we are delighted to announce the acquisitions of Fentimans and Frobishers. The synergies associated with these acquisitions are expected to drive meaningful accretion over the medium term. Underpinning all our activity is our consistent focus on efficiency, margin and growing shareholder returns.”
Panmure Liberum analyst Anubhav Malhotra said AG Barr had made “strong financial progress” in the year.
“Whilst FY26 revenue growth of c.2.5% (on a 52-week comparable basis) was slightly lower than hoped, the outlook and innovation pipeline tells a different story,” he said.
“Key NPD and brand refreshes have landed in January, with more to come this year, which should drive an acceleration to the 4%-5% target growth rate in FY27.”
Adding that the acquisitions would broaden AG Barr’s portfolio and offer “meaningful” cost and revenue synergies, Malhotra said: “The shares have gone sideways in the past year and reigniting the top-line will be a key driver of equity. The shares remain cheap on the potential of future growth off a rock-solid balance sheet.”
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