Heineken chief executive Jean-Francois Van Boxmeer has promised to retain Scottish & Newcastle pub management business, writes Paul Charity.
The Dutch brewer will take over S&N’s UK business when a recommended 800p-a-share bid by Heineken and Carlsberg for the company goes through.
Of Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises (S&NPE), which runs more than 2,000 pubs, Van Boxmeer said: “We find it a very interesting business model. It’s a business model that is essential – it’s a competitive advantage. It’s a model that we have discovered here, unique to the UK.
“We want to develop it and want to see if the business model is exportable.”
Van Boxmeer also indicated that the company would pursue a dual focus policy in relation to Kronenbourg 1664 and Heineken.
He declined to say how the two beers would be priced.
“I’d prefer to tell my customers first,” he said.
Van Boxmeer also said there were no immediate plans to brew Heineken in the UK – it’s brewed in Holland and imported at the moment.
Heineken has negotiated a 50-year licence with Carlsberg to sell Kronenbourg in the UK, but declined to give further details of the arrangement.
Asked about how the company felt about the UK market having four major brewers, Van Boxmeer said: “I’m not buying a licence to close the fourth player.”
Heineken is also picking up S&N’s businesses in Portugal,
Belgium, Ireland and Finland as part of the takeover.
But Van Boxmeer stressed the importance of the UK operation.
“The UK is our single biggest operating unit and will receive a disproportionate amount of time going forward.”
He also referred to the potential of the UK cider business in markets where Heineken is already strong - and how profitable the Newcastle
Brown Ale export business in the US is. Of the UK beer market, he said: “The lager market is still growing structurally and there is growth in premium in the UK.”
