Kliro Capital Partners has acquired UK drinks manufacturer Intercontinental Brands for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 1990, Intercontinental Brands was an independently-owned UK-based producer and distributor of alcoholic drinks for retailers and other alcohol companies. Its roster includes Cactus Jack, Hawksbill Rum, V-Kat, Veroni Amaretto and Rozél Vodka.
Intercontinental Brands’ range of more than 400 SKUs includes mezcal, rum and vodka. It produces 2.5m cases each year and works with retailers and international spirit businesses.
The company has around 25 staff at its Harrogate office and approximately 85 workers at its production facility in Middlesbrough. That site has three glass bottling lines that can accommodate formats from 5cl miniatures to one-litre glass bottles.
Warren Scott, founder of Kliro Capital Partners said: “It is a good business with a strong leadership team and we believe that there is significant potential for growth both in the UK and beyond.
“This is the first step in our strategy to create a leading group supplying a diverse range of drinks products to UK retailers and third-party brand owners.”
Intercontinental Brands directors Paul Burton and John Carthy resigned from their positions on 29 June as part of Kliro Capital Partners’ takeover of the business.
Former Quintessential Brands senior executive Simon Witham is joining ICB as its interim managing director.
Scott – together with Enzo Visone – founded Quintessential Brands in 2011. Having served as the group’s CEO from 2011 to 2020, Scott stepped down from the role and divested from the company last year. Since March, he has been the chairperson of Kliro Capital Partners.
Scott said: “Over the course of the last nine months, I have established a family investment office – Kliro Capital Partners. Together with a number of former colleagues, we are looking to invest and help build businesses in both the drinks industry and the broader consumer sector. We hope to make a number of investments over the course of this year and are excited about the future.”
