C&C Group plc, a leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded beverages in Ireland and the UK, is to set up a £1.2m business support centre for its drinks business in Belfast, with the creation of 25 jobs over the next two years.
Tom McCusker, Managing Director of C&C Group Ireland and Tennent's NI said the city offered a number of advantages.
'Belfast emerged as the most suitable and best cost location because of the availability of skilled people here, a record of low staff turnover rates, a robust infrastructure particularly in terms of telecommunications, and the support package from Invest NI especially for employee training, the latter being an important focus for the group,' he said.
The Group manufactures Bulmers the leading Irish cider brand, Magners the premium international cider brand, Woodchuck the leading cider brand in the United States, Blackthorn the English cider brand and Tennent's the iconic Scottish beer brand.
C&C Group also owns Hornsby’s, Gaymers and the Shepton Mallet Cider Mill brands.
The Group also distributes a number of beer brands in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland, primarily for Anheuser-Busch InBev.
The Group has recently acquired Gleeson Group, Ireland’s leading distributor of beverage products and the producer of Finches soft drinks and Tipperary water.
C&C is headquartered in Dublin and its manufacturing operations are based in Co. Tipperary, Ireland; Glasgow, Scotland; Somerset, England; and Vermont, USA. C&C is listed on the Irish and London Stock Exchanges.