agbarr plc – in good health
for the year to 26th january 2008
01 group at a glance
02 chairman’s statement
03 chief executive’s statement
14 board of directors
15 25 years service awards
16 corporate and social responsibility
19 accounts
20 directors’ report
21 statement on corporate governance
22 directors’ remuneration report
27 consolidated income statement
statements of recognised income and expense
28 balance sheets
29 cash flow statements
30 accounting policies 
34 notes to the accounts
56 independent auditor’s report
57 review of trading results
58 notice of meeting
in good 
health
agbarr plc annual report and accounts january 2008
agbarr plc
westfield house
4 mollins road 
cumbernauld g68 9hd
t 01236 852400
f 01236 852477
wwwagbarrcouk
wwwirnbrucouk
wwwtizercouk
registered office
westfield house
4 mollins road 
cumbernauld g68 9hd
secretary
julie a barr ma hons 
llb dip mba
auditors
baker tilly uk audit llp
breckenridge house
274 sauchiehall street
glasgow g2 3eh
solicitors
brechin tindal oatts
48 st vincent street
glasgow g2 5hs
registrars
equiniti ltd
aspect house
spencer road
lancing
west sussex bn99 6da
registered number
sc005653
to the people
keeping us in
good health
thank you
agbarr plc annual report and accounts january 2008
   group at a glance
wwwagbarrcouk
wwwirnbrucouk
wwwtizercouk
agbarr plc – in good health
for the year to 26th january 2008
01 group at a glance
02 chairman’s statement
03 chief executive’s statement
14 board of directors
15 25 years service awards
16 corporate and social responsibility
19 accounts
20 directors’ report
21 statement on corporate governance
22 directors’ remuneration report
27 consolidated income statement
statements of recognised income and expense
28 balance sheets
29 cash flow statements
30 accounting policies 
34 notes to the accounts
56 independent auditor’s report
57 review of trading results
58 notice of meeting
our brands
irnbru
strathmore
tizer
simply
ka
d‘n’b
st clement’s
findlays
abbotts
barr brands
vitsmart
taut
partnership brands
orangina
snapple
rockstar
liptons
rubicon annual report and accounts 2008 01
2008
2007 608
675
revenue £m
2008
2007 14188
14838
operating profit before exceptional items £m
2008
2007 1833
2039
free cash flow £m
dividends paid £m
2008
2007 1232
120
key performance indicators uk operations
10
11
01
10
09
08
07
03
02
06
04
05
head office
01 cumbernauld
regional office
05 middlebrook
sales branch
04 newcastle
06 moston
07 sheffield
09 wednesbury
10 walthamstow
distribution depot
01 cumbernauld
factory
01 cumbernauld 
02 forfar
03 pitcox 
08 mansfield
  02 annual report and accounts 2008
review of results
profit before taxation for the year to january
2008 was – excluding exceptional items –
£213m compared with £191m for the
previous year this increase of 114
represents an excellent overall performance 
in a year of dismal summer weather and also
reflects the improvement in operating costs
resulting from the infrastructure changes
completed during the year
the exceptional items produced a net charge
of £05m this was a substantial reduction
from the charge of £28m incurred last year
and represented the final costs of our recent
restructuring process
turnover for the year to january 2008 was
£1484m – an increase of 46 over the
previous year adjusting for the turnover 
of the strathmore water business which 
was acquired in june 2006 the likeforlike
increase was 27
the tax charge for the current year is again
very low at 19 of the profit on ordinary
activities compared with the corporation 
tax rate of 30 applicable to the year the
difference is substantially due to a reduction
of £13m in the company’s tax charge for this
year related to the disposal of properties at
the conclusion of our restructuring process
basic earnings per share have risen from
6965p to 8675p and your directors are
pleased to recommend a final dividend 
of 2800p per share to give a total dividend 
for the year to january 2008 of 3900p – an
increase of 114 it is worth noting that over
the last six years we have been able to raise
the total dividend for the year from 2160p 
to 3900p – an overall increase of 806
people
on behalf of our external shareholders 
i would again like to take this opportunity 
to thank all our employees for their efforts
during this year the excellent results achieved
are particularly creditable given both the
distraction of completing the infrastructure
changes and the exceptionally poor summer
weather experienced this year in comparison
with 2006
board
we announced in january that the current
year would see the retiral of two long serving
executive directors
alan bibby operations director retired 
on 29th february he joined the company 
in 1977 and was appointed to the board 
in 1985 iain greenock who will retire at the 
end of june joined the company in 1975 
and was appointed finance director in 1998
throughout these long periods of service
both alan and iain have consistently given 
a level of application and professionalism
which has contributed substantially to the
company’s success over that time and 
i would like to thank them on behalf of 
all our shareholders and wish them both
well in their retirement
after the conclusion of an exhaustive
recruitment process i am pleased to 
confirm that we have been able to appoint
two capable and experienced candidates 
to the vacant positions andrew memmott 
who joined the company in 1990 and was
most recently head of manufacturing was
appointed operations director on 1st march
we also anticipate the appointment on 
1st july of alex short as finance director
alex is currently group finance director of
william grant  sons ltd a major company 
in the alcoholic drinks industry i look forward
to the contributions that these two new
board members will make to the company
prospects
competition within the soft drinks industry
remains intense and is now spread over 
the much wider range of products which
today’s consumer demands to meet this
change we have continued to widen our own
portfolio into those categories which offer
prospects of profitable growth while at the
same time we remain aware that traditional
carbonates will for the future remain the
largest soft drinks category we are confident
that the strength of our core brands in that
category will enable us to successfully
develop the widening portfolio with which 
we are now engaged
robin barr chairman
“over the last six years we have
been able to raise the total dividend
for the year from 2160p to 3900p –
an overall increase of 806 ” 
chairman’s
statement
irnbru
irnbru stole the show at the scottish advertising
awards 2007 in glasgow it was the 21st year of the
awards ceremony and irnbru was awarded the
best brand the best slogan for ‘made in scotland
from girders’  best radio commercial best poster
and best advertising campaign in the last 21 years
the phenomenal evening was completed by irnbru’s
snowman advert winning the grand prix award this 
is an award given to the best overall advert of the year
robin barr chairman annual report and accounts 2008 03
“over the course of the last 
financial year our business 
has delivered a strong 
overall performance ”
chief executive’s
statement
basic earnings per share p
2008
2007
2006 6506
6965
8675
dividends for financial year p
2008
2007
2006 3175
3500
3900
roger white chief executive
financial performance
over the course of the last financial year 
our business has delivered a strong overall
performance we have continued to execute
our value based growth strategy and despite
the extremely poor summer weather and 
its consequential impact on the soft drinks
market we have delivered growth in sales
revenue operating margin and profit at 
the same time as we further invested in our
brands and assets the pace of operational
change has continued to be challenging but
we remain confident in our ability to deliver
improved financial performance even in times
of significant change
although the poor summer weather impacted
the soft drinks market we continued to make
good financial progress with pretax profit
before exceptionals increasing by 114 from
£191m to £213m this strong performance
was underpinned by improvements in
operating margins reflecting the impact of the
benefits in our scottish supply chain project
beginning to flow through
total sales grew by 46 from £1419m to
£1484m in the period 27 on a likeforlike
basis adjusting for the strathmore water
business acquired in june 2006 highlighting
the resilient nature of our brands which 
have collectively grown market share across
the year 
although we continued to manage our
business primarily focusing on value not
volume we did as previously indicated
marginally increase our promotional weight 
in the multiple retailers sector across the
summer period this initiative in tandem
with our ongoing development of the impulse
market and a strong control over costs
ensured that we successfully delivered our
business targets across the summer period
despite the challenging market conditions
operating profit before exceptionals increased
by 112 and the operating margin improved
in line with our expectations from 129 to
137 further improvement to operating
margin is expected from our restructuring
programme although increased marketing
support costs are planned as we further
develop our brand portfolio for the longterm
capital spend in the period was £125m 
and although lower than the prior year it was
higher than longterm average levels as we
completed our major restructuring projects
during the second half of the year we
completed the clearance of and exit from 
our atherton site this location is now 
surplus to our operating requirements and 
a marketing process has now commenced
despite our high level of capital spend 
we were able as a consequence of our
continued focus on cash management to 
exit the year with £17 9m of cash in the bank
tizer
tizer’s distinctive poster and magazine advertising
campaign supported the introduction of the brand’s
new more natural formulation containing 10 real
fruit juice with no artificial flavourings no artificial
sweeteners and no artificial colours and helped the
brand to achieve a 15 increase in sales during 
the relaunch period 04 annual report and accounts 2008
we acquired the vitsmart and vitaminsmart
brands from chartered brands in december
2007 for a potential total consideration 
of £350000 this acquisition will give us a 
head start in the enhanced waters category
with an existing product range and revenue
streams to quickly build on the total sales 
of vitsmartvitaminsmart in 2007 were
approximately £1m at retail sales value
we also announced the acquisition of the
taut sports drinks business in late january
2008 the business was acquired for 
a nominal sum of £1 and had operating 
losses of c£13m in 2006 this acquisition
also gives us a strong point of entry into 
the sports drinks category with a brand that
has already had a significant marketing and
promotion spend behind it and importantly 
a credible position with both consumers and
the trade in this key growth category the taut
business will be rapidly consolidated into our
operating structure and we expect that the
operating losses will be stemmed during 
the early part of 200809 it is consequently
anticipated that taut will not have a material
impact on the operating performance of the
business in 200809 financial year
the market
over the course of the 200708 financial 
year the total soft drinks market grew in
value by 3 however its volume dropped 
by 2 source nielsen scantrack 12 months
to 26th january 2008 this performance
reflects the difficult yearonyear comparison
in the summer months which contrasted the
uk’s hottest summer in 2006 with its wettest
in 2007 this poor summer position was
particularly evident in those subcategories
which had done best in the summer of 2006
– namely water dilutables and fruit juice
carbonates in comparison performed
relatively better this was partly due to 
less difficult comparators but further confirms
our view that good quality well supported
carbonate brands can continue to offer good
growth prospects in the twelve month period
carbonates were up 4 in value and slightly
down in volume within the carbonates
sector the decline of a number of historically
poorer performing nondifferentiated fruit
carbonate brands continued
regardless of weather the two sub categories
which have consistently performed strongly
over the last two years are sports and energy
in both still and carbonated format with
growth in the last twelve months in excess 
of 20 in volume and value these sub
categories continue to form much of the
engine for growth in the category as a whole
with this in mind it is even more important 
to develop our portfolio into these key areas
of potential for future growth
during the last twelve months our pence 
per litre ppl as measured by nielsen has
continued to improve increasing by 2 on
core barr brands this growth is marginally
lower than the prior twelve months reflecting
our stated plan of increasing promotional
weight in multiples as well as the highly
competitive nature of the market during 
the difficult summer period we anticipate 
a return to our historic level of promotional
weight in 200809 and consequently 
expect our own ppl to rise at or possibly 
in advance of industry average levels
“we anticipate a return to our historic
level of promotional weight in 200809
and consequently expect our own ppl
to rise at or possibly in advance
of industry average levels ” in july 2007 at hampden park the home of scottish
football irnbru announced its £3m three year
sponsorship deal with the scottish football league 
the sponsorship represents a major contribution to 
the football landscape of scotland its clubs and its
communities roger white commented ‘the passion 
and commitment shown in scotland towards football 
is inspiring and a great fit for irnbru’ 
“what a 
great result”
  irnbru activity
• new irnbru packaging is launched
• irnbru ‘feel phenomenal’ campaign is launched
which consists of a new tv advert shot on the irnbru
revolution ride at blackpool pleasure beach four goths
are featured in the advert which is a ‘homage’ to the
jim’ll fixit cub scouts story from the 1970’s
• irnbru announces a new 3 year £3m sponsorship
deal with the scottish football league to sponsor sfl
leagues 1 2 and 3 which become the irnbru scottish
football league 1 2 and 3 annual report and accounts 2008 05 06 annual report and accounts 2008
strategy
our core strategic focus remains 
unchanged and we continue to develop 
our strategy around
• core brands and markets
• portfolio development
• route to market
• partnerships
• efficient operations
in addition the ongoing development 
of our people underpins each of these 
areas of strategic focus
much of our time and effort in the last 
twelve months has been spent in pursuit 
of our goal of building a sustainable future
growth platform for the business
we have therefore allocated increased
resources towards the areas of core brands
and markets portfolio development and
partnerships all of which are central to
meeting our future growth aspirations
core brands and markets
the barr brands portfolio performed well in
both market share and absolute sales terms
across the year although the poor summer
weather had a negative impact on the total
soft drinks market our market share was at 
its strongest in the difficult summer months
demonstrating the underlying brand strength
and consumer demand for our core brands
the continued focus on product quality 
and consumer preference in particular 
their taste preferences on a regional basis
has paid further dividends in improved 
sales performance across our range and
throughout the uk
irnbru and diet irnbru both 
continued to show good yearonyear 
growth increasing sales revenue by over 
3 considerable market share gains were
also made especially in england and wales
where the irnbru brand grew market 
share by 10 in the period this market
share performance contrasts starkly with
competing other flavoured carbonate brands 
– fanta and tango – both of which lost
significant volume and share over the year
the irnbru brand is now in value share
terms bigger than the combined size of the
lilt sprite and tango brands after a huge
initial sales performance irnbru 32 has
settled into a stable rate of sale which reflects
its position in the portfolio as a longterm
product focused on energy drink consumers
specifically in the scottish market
in an exciting year for the brand irnbru
became the main sponsor of the scottish
football league cementing its position as 
a prominent supporter of grass roots sports
throughout scotland with a combination of
centrally controlled football initiatives balanced
with local club support and activities this three
year deal gives the irnbru brand a great
platform for communication in tandem with
the continued increase in overall marketing
investment behind the irnbru brand the
packaging was further updated with the classic
irnbru bottle design now represented
across the whole impulse portfolio and a
higher level of focus behind the 250ml small
bottle range the irnbru brand is in good
health with the potential to deliver further
exciting developments across 200809 the st clement’s range has been developed to fit 
in with the new schools guidelines – and sales are 
very healthy in this sector
“this’ll keep
my mum
happy and it
tastes great” 60
100
pure juice in simply pure
100
juice in simply juicy
juice in st clement’s pure juice
st clement’s activity
• st clement’s offers a range of fruit based drinks 
pure juices and smoothies that really deliver on taste 
• 21 growth in the st clement’s brand following the
launch of new st clement’s juices and smoothies 
in september 2007 annual report and accounts 2008 07 08 annual report and accounts 2008
orangina has had another excellent year 
with revenue growth of 13 reflecting
consumers’ response to the increased
marketing investment in the brand and also
the significant improvements to listings and
distribution the creative and commercial
plans for 200809 suggest that the current
momentum should continue
tizer was relaunched at the start of the year
with the addition of real fruit juice and with 
no artificial colours flavours or sweeteners 
– the “new original recipe” tizer tizer has
performed in line with the other flavoured
carbonates sector this year with sales down
4 reflecting a combination of the poor
summer and a number of previously lost
listings impacting sales tizer has recovered
7 in ppl but now needs to reestablish 
its distribution and listings across 200809
the underlying strength of our regional
offerings whether in the west of scotland
central london or the m62 corridor has once
again delivered good growth our regional
portfolio including d‘n’b ka red kola and
the barr range substantially outperformed 
the market with all brands in growth and 
a particularly encouraging performance 
this year in the london area
over the course of the last year we
rationalised our water offering to focus 
the findlays brand on water coolers and
strathmore as our main retailfood service
water brand we commenced as planned 
our marketing activity behind the strathmore
brand including a heavy weight tv advertising
campaign and outdoor media in scotland
despite the weakness in the overall water
market during the summer of 2007 the
launch of strathmore into the impulse market
has gone well although the poor market
conditions experienced by the water category
overall has held sales flat the water market
remains competitive but we plan to continue
to develop strathmore as a premium brand 
in the sector we have further initiatives
designed to build the brand included 
in our programme for 200809
portfolio development
during the last twelve months we have 
made significant progress in the development
of our portfolio across the wider soft drinks
category it remains our firmly held view that
taste is a key determinant of success and 
that consumers wish a range of products –
traditional carbonates stillfruit based products
and functional drinks our efforts to accelerate
our developments and improve our speed 
to market have seen further progress in the
development of the st clement’s brand with
the launch of a range of juices and smoothies
these high quality products are marketed
with both the consumer and trade in mind 
– they are designed to be “stored ambient 
and served chilled”  they are positioned at 
a good value for money price point meeting
the demands of the impulse channel where
chilled storage and distribution is an issue
and allowing increased numbers of consumers
access to a high quality product category 
at a competitive price in this channel
we have also redesigned our schools 
range once more in the period to meet 
the challenging and often inconsistent
requirements of this sector
in our efforts to develop our portfolio we
have taken a pragmatic approach to satisfy
our growth and development aspirations –
consequently we have not only designed 
and launched several new products under
our existing brand names but we have also
purchased brands the acquisitions have
been in sectors which we believe are capable
of real sustained future growth where speed
to market and brand credibility is important
the purchase of the vitsmartvitaminsmart
brands and the taut sports drink business
allows us a fast start into these key categories
with the potential to grow quickly over the
course of the next few years
our commercial partnership with rockstar
commenced in the final quarter of 200708
with the launch of three rockstar variants 
– standard diet and a juiced product – 
into the uk the large can energy market 
is growing quickly and with the product 
and marketing support of rockstar we can
provide an exciting range to consumers 
in this growing category
last year has therefore seen considerable
development in our portfolio and brought 
us to a position where we are becoming 
a more balanced business with prospects 
of growth across multiple brands in almost 
all key sectors
strathmore
strathmore sprang onto tv with its first ever 
award winning tv advert as part of a £1m
marketing drive in scotland strathmore also
handed out over 300000 bottles of the spring 
water to thirsty runners walkers and cyclists over
the summer at charity road races across the uk strathmore spring water is delighted to be the official 
water sponsor of the albert bartlett edinburgh marathon 
and looks forward to refreshing the runners with pure 
natural scottish spring water rich in beneficial minerals
“spring water
and thirsty
runners 
a winning
formula” strathmore activity
• the first ever strathmore tv adverts are launched in
2007 “double dutch” and “ribbon” support both the
contemporary “look” and the traditional “provenance”
of the strathmore brand
• strathmore gains new distribution in the impulse
market – and launches an onpack competition 
to support the princes trust charity
• strathmore is able to support the july 2007 flood 
relief efforts in gloucestershire by sending emergency
supplies direct to the region
• strathmore grew by 16 in the “take home and
impulse market” – despite the poor summer which
saw the total water market slightly down on 2006
source nielsen annual report and accounts 2008 09 10 annual report and accounts 2008
route to market
supporting the rapid growth of our 
portfolio is crucial in route to market 
terms we have continued to invest in the
infrastructure to develop our specific route 
to market although the impulse market
remains an important focus for our efforts 
we have improved performance and resources
across all our key trade channels and will
continue to do so the roll out of our new
customer relationship management software
is planned for early in the 200809 financial
year following a full year of development work
this system is designed both to improve our
cost efficiency and at the same time enhance
our overall customer service offering
partnerships
our ability to form strong strategic
partnerships remains a cornerstone of 
our operating philosophy throughout 
the business we encourage a partnership
approach with both internal teams and 
our key external business contacts
during the last year our orangina business
has continued to improve with total sales 
of orangina international products now over
£8m we are committed to developing the
orangina business in the uk
our partnership with the rockstar team has
made an excellent start with huge interest 
in the brand and a strong executional plan
for 2008
we have seen strong growth from the
rubicon brand and will continue to work with
the rubicon team to deliver contract filling 
and route to market support for the brand
on a less positive note we ended our supply
of carbonated pet and can products to
marks and spencer during the course of last
year this was our only piece of customer
own brand business and accounted for 
sales of £17m in 200607  however we have
recently launched a new range of traditional
carbonates in glass bottles with marks and
spencer this traditional range is targeted 
at slightly older consumers and has made
good early sales progress
irnbru in russia has done very well over 
the last twelve months with local sales up 
20 versus the overall carbonated soft drinks
market in russia at 7 this performance
continues to give us confidence that the 
irnbru brand can be further developed
outside the uk
exports to our partners in spain increased by
32 and our fledgling business in australia
broke through the 1 million litre mark ahead
of plan
we have once again continued across 
the year to work with our key partner
suppliers in many fields to manage risk
enhance quality and improve efficiency
while reducing environmental impacts
“throughout the business we
encourage a partnership approach ” d‘n’b continued its support of rugby league and will 
be the official soft drink of both the “super league” 
and “team england” in 2008
“it’s a favourite
with the fans” regional activity
• our regional brands – or regional gems as we like 
to call them – continued to grow and prosper in 2007 
• all our regional brands saw good growth in 2007 
and as a business we remain well placed to cater 
for increasingly local preferences and tastes
• ka continued to grow investing in local activity 
such as the notting hill carnival ka also launched
abbots ginger beer a more traditional tasting “fiery”
ginger beer
• barr continued to go from strength to strength both
north and south of the border – with investment 
in new products and packaging annual report and accounts 2008 11 12 annual report and accounts 2008
efficient operations
the structural changes in which we have
invested over the last twenty four months
have now started to deliver the operating
efficiencies and cost savings as planned 
our fewer larger operating sites have 
had a busy year with the completion and
commissioning of our new can line being 
the single biggest investment across all 
our sites we have continued to invest to
improve flexibility cost quality safety and
service this has not been an easy year
within our core operations – new systems
and new people operating on updated sites
plus a major new line being commissioned 
at cumbernauld with the added dimension 
of the planned closure of our atherton site 
in june throughout these changes our focus
on the continuous improvement of cost and
efficiency coupled with improved flexibility
has enabled all our teams to deliver our
operating plan
the further development of our product
portfolio is naturally giving us increased
operational challenges to meet which we 
are confident we will tackle successfully 
as we look forward our operational efforts 
will continue to focus on efficiency and 
cost however increasingly operational
complexity and the environment will play
larger roles in our longterm planning 
our asset base is in good health but 
we cannot afford to be complacent since 
we have stretching improvement targets
throughout our operations further investment
planning is now underway with longterm 
site development plans being created for 
our key locations
“the structural changes we have
invested in over the last twenty
four months have now started to
deliver the operating efficiencies
and cost savings as planned”
vitsmart
vitsmart is a range of functional waters
delivering 50 of your rda of vitamins 
in a 500ml bottle the brand will allow us 
a credible entry into this rapidly growing
sector with products that have existing 
retail distribution and consumers 
rockstar
our partnership with rockstar the successful
us energy drinks brand started with a launch
into the impulse trade prior to christmas 2007
with very encouraging sales with multiple
grocery distribution in place for the summer
expectations are high that the brand will
perform well in 2008
taut
our newly acquired sports drink brand taut
has a unique selling point in the fast growing
sports drinks market that of being ‘the first
clean sports drink’ on the market this is an
exciting addition to our business and helps 
us to broaden our offering in total soft drinks annual report and accounts 2008 13
people 
the business performance improvements of
the last twelve months have been delivered 
by the people in our business through 
sheer hard work experience talent and
commitment many have overcome significant
hurdles to deliver the financial performance 
we have achieved i would like to thank
everyone for their efforts
i would also like to specifically thank the
team at our atherton site who worked
effectively and with great spirit until the final
can was filled at that site in june of last year
at board level the retirement of iain greenock
finance director and alan bibby operations
director will be a great loss and i would like
to thank them for their many years of service
and the great impact they have both had on
the business we were however pleased to
welcome andrew memmott to the board on
his appointment as operations director and
we look forward to alex short joining us as
finance director during the summer of 2008
i am pleased to welcome julie barr to the 
role of company secretary julie joined 
the company in 2004 following her earlier
legal career
throughout the last year we have continued
to improve our training and development
across the business with 25 managers
benefiting from our business leadership
programme and 9 managers participating 
in our first line management programme 
another 32 managers achieved further
external qualifications such as national
vocational qualifications during the last
twelve months
as our business grows and develops
communication becomes more important 
this is an area we aim to further develop 
we have established local consultation teams
as a first formal step and improved our internal
kpi and performance briefings we will
continue to invest time and effort across 
the business to ensure people development
and communication keeps pace with the
business as it develops
outlook
the business despite mixed weather and 
a competitive soft drinks market performed
well over the last financial year the soft
drinks market remains a challenging but
rewarding sector although it is changing and
its complexities are increasing – it is not as
simple as carbonates and stills or full sugar
and diet – consumers are becoming more
selective media is fragmenting demographic
profiles are changing we need to take
account of all of this in moving the business
forward but we must also remember not to
lose sight of the basic fundamentals – taste
brand differentiation and product availability
we have as planned delivered improved
operating profit during the last twelve months
and we have increased the momentum behind
the development of our portfolio we must now
continue to both invest behind our core brands
at the same time as we provide support to our
growing portfolio of new brands
although the general economic outlook is
somewhat uncertain and there is pressure 
on margins from increased input costs across
our industry we remain optimistic that we are
well positioned to ride out these difficulties
and look forward to further sustained
business growth and improvement
roger white chief executive
orangina
orangina 500ml and 2 litre bottles were relaunched
with an exciting new design featuring a 3d swirl 
on the bottles the brand’s marketing campaign
also stood out in 2007 with its moving lcd screen
adverts on the london underground and its bus
rear creative in 2008 we will relaunch the brand’s
iconic 250ml bulby glass bottle in the uk
“through sheer hard work
experience talent and commitment
many have overcome significant
hurdles to deliver the financial
performance we have achieved ” 14 annual report and accounts 2008
01 w robin g barr ca 70
joined the company in 1960 appointed 
director in 1964 and chairman in 1978 
02 roger a white ma hons 43
joined the company in 2002 as managing 
director appointed chief executive in 2004 
03 iain f greenock ca 60
joined the company in 1975 appointed 
secretary in 1995 financial director in 1998
04 alan a bibby beng finstbe 56
joined the company in 1977 
appointed operations director in 1985 
05 jonathan d kemp ba hons 36
joined the company in 2003 as
commercial director 
06 ronald g hanna ca 65
joined the company in 2003 as a non
executive director currently chairman 
of both bowleven plc and glasgow
investment trust and a director 
of edinburgh high income trust
07 james s espey b com mba phd 64
joined the company in 1999 as a 
nonexecutive director currently a 
nonexecutive director of fuller smith 
 turner p lc 
board of
directors
01 03
05
04
06
02
07 annual report and accounts 2008 15
25 years 
service awards
lesley fildes
planning and materials officer
paul yarwood
service driver
michael mee
warehouse operative
ross hannah
water cooler manager
brenda mcleod
company secretarial officer
david sigley
branch checker
patrick case
production operative
alex lyndsay
barr service supervisor
ronnie todd
driversales representative
janet fahey
cost clerk
employees achieving 25 years service during the year are pictured below 16 annual report and accounts 2008
environment policy
policy
we are committed to prevention of 
pollution and continual improvement of 
our environmental performance in line with 
all relevant environmental legislation and
further selfimposed targets
strategy
• management of key environmental issues
monitoring and evaluating impacts such 
as energy consumption packaging design
and effluent discharge
• consider and review the environmental
impact of investment decisions
• agree specific plans to achieve target
improvements
• achieve and maintain the british standard
bs en iso 14001
sustainability
we continue to promote sustainability
objectives through our environmental
programme to conserve where possible
natural resources protect natural ecosystems
and minimise our environmental impacts 
the operations director has responsibility 
for carrying through our environmental
programme
environmental programme
iso14001
during the implementation of the bs en iso
14001 environmental management system
across our business we have embedded 
a culture of environmental awareness 
and resource efficiency due to this we 
have been successful in making a number 
of improvements in optimising our energy
and water usage and reducing the level 
of packaging used on our products this
programme will continue through 2008 
the integration of the strathmore water
business has required changes to the 
factory and warehouse processes to achieve
certification to the internationally recognised
environmental management system bs en
iso 14001 the team at forfar attained this
recognition in november 2007  
pollution prevention and control
with the closure of our atherton factory
during 2007 the pollution prevention and
control permit for this site was surrendered
in october 2007 the environment agency
reported satisfaction that the site had 
suffered no environmental degradation 
we submit regular environmental reports 
to both the environment agency and scottish
environmental protection agency for our
remaining permits all our applications
permits surrender documentation and reports
are publicly available from the agencies 
climate change levy
we are now in the fourth climate change
levy ‘milestone year’ which ends in
september 2008 the government targets 
are becoming more challenging with a
greater reduction in energy usage needed
yearonyear actions put in place during
2007 will make the milestone four target
achievable across our company
the current climate change levy rebate
scheme ends in 2010 over the ten year
lifetime of the scheme we will have had to
reduce energy usage by 20 in return for
energy tax rebates by using more energy
efficient equipment and processes we are
wellplaced to achieve the required 20
reduction ensuring receipt of the levy 
rebate until 2012
corporate and
social responsibility
“we are committed to
prevention of pollution and
continual improvement of our
environmental performance ”
bottle blowing efficiencies at mansfield
at our mansfield factory a major upgrade in our
bottle blowing capability has not only provided 
us with greater capacity but with a smaller energy
footprint the new bottle blowing equipment can
deliver the same number of bottles produced on 
the old equipment during 200708 whilst emitting 
100 tonnes less co2 ie enough to carbonate 
13 million cans of irnbru
mast overhead at cumbernauld
agbarr plc have commissioned a detailed feasibility 
study of the potential for a medium to large scale wind
development at their cumbernauld site the electricity
generated would aim to offset a considerable proportion 
of the sites electrical input demand in addition an
environmental overview is being undertaken including
communication with the relevant stakeholder bodies 
work is expected to continue through this coming year 
to assess the suitability of this potential development “reviewing 
and setting
environmental
targets locally 
and within 
our business
goals”
in 2008 we will start a new partnership with the prince’s trust
the trust helps 14 to 30 year olds who are in or leaving care
struggle at school are unemployed or have been in trouble 
with the law it has become the uk’s leading youth charity
offering a range of opportunities including training personal
development business startup support mentoring and 
advice we will support the work of the trust by investing 
in a number of their community programmes across the 
uk with a particular focus on scotland the strathmore 
water brand will provide the trust’s water requirements for 
their various fundraising and recognition activities throughout 
the year throughout our business we will encourage all 
our employees to engage with the work of the trust through
organising fundraising activities and engaging directly in the
projects that we will be supporting the prince  princess of wales hospice sportsman’s dinner
we have sponsored this annual dinner for over 10 years and
it is the charity’s most successful annual fundraising event 
of the year the glasgow hospice provides care and comfort
to terminally ill patients and supports their carers and families
jimmy rexter
recycling and reuse has always been at the core of agbarr’s
business not only do our returnable glass bottles get sold
around five times during their life time but we also know 
that the 20p bottle deposit plays an important role in helping
many charities to raise funds jimmy rexter from cumbernauld
has dedicated the past 25 years to collecting barr soft drinks
returnable glass bottles and has raised more than £100000
for scottish charities an incredible achievement which we
celebrated with him during a recent visit to cumbernauld
partnership with westfield primary school
we were delighted to have been invited by north lanarkshire
council to enter into a local business education partnership
agreement with westfield primary school in cumbernauld 
as part of a refreshing approach to enterprise in education
our staff will work closely with the pupils from westfield to
support them in various enterprise projects within the school
the overall aim is to give the pupils a real and practical
experience of the working world it also provides us with the
opportunity to put something back into the local community annual report and accounts 2008 17
we have commissioned a detailed feasibility
study to investigate the potential for significant
scale wind power development at our
cumbernauld site the electricity generated
would aim to offset a considerable proportion
of the site’s electrical input demand in addition
an environmental overview is being undertaken
including communication with the relevant
stakeholder bodies work is expected to
continue through this coming year to assess
the suitability of this potential development
water usage
water is an essential part of our products
and processes therefore it is of utmost
importance that it is used responsibly each
year we use over 500 million litres of water
from municipal and groundwater sources 
inevitably our production processes create
wastewater by focusing on reducing our
water usage we also reduce the amount 
of wastewater we produce which is suitably
treated before being returned to the natural
environment 
transport
the transport and distribution of our goods 
is a fundamental part of our business and
has its own set of environmental impacts 
to negate these impacts amongst other
things we closely monitor our fuel usage 
and have given safed safe and fuel
efficient driving training to all our drivers 
in an attempt to promote more economical
driving styles our distribution management
teams are focused on maximising the
efficiency of our distribution operations 
to reduce both costs and emissions
we have trialled ecofriendly delivery vehicles
and plan to introduce these to the fleet during
the course of 200809
packaging waste
the uk government continues to increase
the percentage of packaging waste we 
are obligated to recover and recycle each
year this is regulated through the producer
responsibility packaging waste regulations
our packaging compliance scheme
managers valpak help to ensure that 
we meet these targets
over and above this as a responsible
manufacturer we have reduced the
environmental impacts of our packaging
across our product range one of the most
significant ways we achieve this is by applying
the latest material technology to reduce 
the weight of our packaging this not only
reduces the amount of raw materials needed
but can also increase product distribution
efficiencies we will continue to minimise 
the weight of material used to package 
our products whilst maintaining the quality
and safety of our products in recent years
we have made significant improvements 
in reducing the total weight of packaging 
in our top three packs – 16 on 500ml pet
9 on 2 litre pet and 3 on 330ml cans
quality and food safety
quality
bs en iso 9001 continues to be the
foundation of our quality management
system and inclusion of the strathmore
production site was a priority during 2007
the new warehouse and distribution centre 
at cumbernauld has also been incorporated
into the scope of our certification following
external audit by our assessment auditors
lloyds register q a
we also maintain externally audited
certification at our three main production
sites to the british retail consortium’s 
global standard for food
food safety
the principles of haccp hazard analysis
and critical control point have been applied
to all of our production facilities in addition 
to a companywide analysis each factory
undertakes a study to identify any additional
local features that require special attention
our quality management system is used 
to monitor the critical control points and 
to ensure that these are maintained through
audit and review 
procurement
our ethical purchasing policy is based 
on the institute of purchase and supply’s
recommendation our team of trained
auditors work with our suppliers to ensure
that our needs are fully conveyed they
provide us with an additional level of
confidence in the quality of both raw and
packaging materials the high level of
supplier performance also helps to maintain
the efficiency of our factories with less 
downtime and less waste we continue 
to require our suppliers to maintain the 
gmfree status of our raw materials
lightweighting strathmore bottles
packaging development work has enabled 
a reduction in bottle weight for the popular
strathmore 500ml pet packs this will save 
over 5 of the plastics used for these bottles 
in 2008 18 annual report and accounts 2008
health and safety
it is the policy of the company to take 
all reasonable steps to provide for our
employees and visitors to our sites a safe 
and healthy work environment in which 
to carry out our business we believe that
effective management of health and safety 
is integral to our business success the
management at each of our locations is held
accountable for the effective control of health
and safety onsite in addition to a company
health and safety manager each operating
site has an appointed manager trained to
nebosh national examination board of
occupational safety and health certificate
standard to provide local health and 
safety expertise
health and safety guidance notes specifying
the overall safe systems of work for each
area of risk are developed and made
available for implementation at site level 
by the operating managers 
the year to january 2008 has seen a
significant improvement in our safety
performance including a reduction in the
number of accidents reportable to the health
and safety executive hse to 19 by the
nature of our business the main causes 
of accidents are manual handling and slips
trips and falls some of which happen off
our sites in the course of product delivery 
all accidents are thoroughly investigated 
to enable appropriate corrective action 
to be taken and initiatives are planned 
in 200809 to provide additional focus 
on accident prevention
the company operates an annual health 
and safety action plan and sets key
performance safety targets to facilitate
continuous improvement local safety
committees meet monthly to review their
safety performance and implement action
plans from safety inspections and safety
audits the main company safety committees
supported by the health and safety manager
and led by senior managers meet quarterly
to review the company safety performance 
a comprehensive health and safety audit
developed internally specifically for
agbarr is used to annually audit our
factory warehouse and office workplaces
and each site has the responsibility of
implementing the action plan issued
the board of directors require implementation
of the health and safety policy compliance
against the safety guidance notes and
completion of safety action plans across all
areas of the business and this is reviewed
every quarter
employees 
we recognise that the talent and skills 
of our workforce are vital to the company’s
continuing success staff are encouraged 
to develop their skills through a range 
of activities including project work
secondments and offthejob training 
we provide some 68 internal training
programmes covering a wide range of 
topics such as management skills personal
development and health and safety and 
in addition 195 delegates attended external
training courses and 43 employees have
gained formal qualifications during the year
in the year ahead all employees will have
their own agreed personal development 
plan setting out the planned learning and
development activities that will help them 
to develop their skills and potential to the full
pay and benefits are benchmarked against
other companies to ensure the rewards to
staff are competitive and we seek to ensure
that employees are provided with a safe and
healthy work environment and a guarantee 
of fairness and equal opportunities for other
employment matters see the directors’ report
on page 20
community
each of our sites is encouraged to be
involved with its local community and to
support where possible some of its local
community charities and events we try 
both to convey the message of social
inclusion in any grass roots activity that we
support and maintain links with all sections
of the community our employees are able 
to participate in events sponsored by the
company this may involve taking part fund
raising or raising awareness for the activity
we also try to motivate employees in health
awareness schemes encouraging and
highlighting their achievements
“this high level of supplier performance
also helps to maintain the efficiency 
of our factories with less downtime
fewer errors and less waste”
strathmore more pallets per load
our focus on maximising the efficiency of our
distribution operations to reduce both costs and
emissions can be illustrated by the integration of the
strathmore water business into the barr distribution
network during this period we have seen an
increase in vehicle utilisation of 10 this improved
use of the fleet reduces the number of vehicle
movements and thereby reduces our fuel usage
zero emissions trucks
trials are continuing in our walthamstow and
newcastle depots of a groundbreaking ecofriendly
electric delivery truck we are the first in the soft
drinks industry to trial these vehicles which run
off a rechargeable battery and cover an impressive
120 miles before needing to be recharged  accounts
accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 19
20 directors’ report
21 statement on corporate governance
22 directors’ remuneration report
27 consolidated income statement
statements of recognised income and expense
28 balance sheets
29 cash flow statements
30 accounting policies
34 notes to the accounts
56 independent auditor’s report
57 review of trading results
58 notice of meeting
  the profit after tax as shown in the consolidated income
statement amounted to £16838m 2007 £13191m 
the directors have paid the following dividend appropriations
during the year
dividends £000
final dividend paid 8th june 2007 
2475p per share 2007 2200p 4673
interim dividend paid 26th october 2007 
1100p per share 2007 1025p 2078
total dividends 3575p per share 2007 3225p 6751
the proposed final dividend of 2800p will be posted on 
5th june 2008 if approved at the company’s annual general
meeting on 19th may 2008
activities of the group
the principal activity is the manufacture and sale of soft drinks
a review of trading during the year and future prospects is
contained in the statements of the chairman and the chief
executive on pages 2 to 13
property plant and equipment
the directors are of the opinion that the existing use market
value of the properties at 26th january 2008 was not materially
different from their book value
employee involvement
using regular briefing procedures managers keep employees
at all levels informed about matters affecting the policy
progress and people in the business in which they work
twice yearly the briefing includes a report on trading results
the directors are committed to the principle of employee
share participation through the savings related share option
scheme the performance related share scheme the long
service award scheme the allemployee share ownership
plan and the longterm incentive plan
employment of disabled persons
applications for employment by disabled persons are always
fully considered bearing in mind the respective qualifications
and abilities of the applicants concerned in the event of
employees becoming disabled every effort is made to ensure
that their employment will continue the training career
development and promotion of a disabled person is as far 
as possible identical to that of a person fortunate enough 
not to suffer from a disability
payment policy and practice
the policy is to make payment on the terms agreed with
suppliers when satisfied that the supplier has provided the
goods or services in accordance with the agreed terms 
and conditions there is no standard or code which deals
specifically with the payment of suppliers 
at 26th january 2008 trade payables represented
approximately 36 days purchases based on the average 
daily amount invoiced by suppliers during the year
directors
the directors of the company together with biographical
notes are shown on page 14 all the directors held office
throughout the year the directors retiring by rotation are
wrg barr and jd kemp who being eligible offer
themselves for reelection both directors have service
contracts which are terminable on a basic one year’s 
notice see page 23
following the completion of his third three year contract as 
a nonexecutive director the reappointment of js espey 
on 1st april 2008 falls to be confirmed js espey has 
a one year contract from his date of reappointment
on 28th january 2008 the group announced the retirement 
of aa bibby and if greenock aa bibby retired on 
29th february 2008 and was succeeded by al memmott 
if  greenock will retire during the summer and he will be
succeeded by abc short
at no time during the year had any director a material 
interest in any contract which was of significance to the 
group’s business
qualifying third party indemnity insurance is in place for 
the benefit of all directors of the company
interests in share capital
in addition to the directors’ shareholdings detailed in the
directors’ remuneration report on page 26 the directors 
have been notified of the following shareholdings in excess 
of 3 of the issued share capital as at 26th january 2008
caledonia investments plc 1820000 shares 935
finsbury growth trust plc 885000 shares 455
legal  general investment managers 588128 shares 302
share value
the share value at 31st march 1982 was 78334p per 
25p ordinary share restated to reflect the scrip issue 
on 5th march 1991
auditors
baker tilly uk audit llp has agreed to offer itself for 
reelection as auditor of the company
close company
the company is not a close company in terms of the income
and corporation taxes act 1988
directors’ responsibilities
company law requires the directors to prepare accounts for
each financial period which give a true and fair view of the
state of affairs of the company and of the group and of the
profit or loss of the group for that period in preparing the
group’s accounts the directors confirm that they have
a selected suitable accounting policies and applied 
them consistently
b made judgements and estimates that are reasonable 
and prudent
c followed applicable accounting standards and
d prepared the accounts on a going concern basis
the directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting
records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time
the financial position of the group and enable them to ensure
that the accounts are in accordance with ifrs as adopted by
the eu they are responsible for safeguarding the assets of
the group and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention
and detection of fraud and other irregularities
the directors are also responsible for the maintenance and
integrity of the agbarr plc website legislation in the 
uk governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions
each of the persons who is a director at the date of approval
of this report confirms that
a so far as the director is aware there is no relevant 
audit information of which the company’s auditors 
are unaware and
b the director has taken all the steps that he ought to 
have taken as a director in order to make himself aware 
of any relevant information and to establish that the
company’s auditors are aware of that information
this confirmation is given and should be interpreted in
accordance with the provisions of s234za of the companies
act 1985
annual general meeting
the company’s annual general meeting is convened for
1100am on 19th may 2008 and will be held at the offices of
brechin tindall oatts 48 st vincent street glasgow g2 5hs
the notice of the annual general meeting is set out on pages
58 to 61
on behalf of the board
ja barr
secretary
westfield house
4 mollins road
cumbernauld g68 9hd
31st march 2008
directors’ report
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
20 annual report and accounts 2008 application of the principles of the revised combined code
the board
agbarr plc is led by a strong and experienced board
which brings a depth and diversity of expertise to the
leadership of the company
one third of the board members are nonexecutive directors
both of whom are considered by the board to be independent
js espey is the senior nonexecutive director
under the company’s articles of association one third of the
board is subject to retirement and reelection every year with
each director being required to be reelected within a three
year period
the board retains full and effective control of the company
including responsibility for deciding the company’s strategy
and for approving short and medium term plans including
targets and budgets the board has twelve scheduled
meetings set annually in advance and an agenda and relevant
papers including trading results and all items relevant to the
schedule of matters for consideration and discussion by the
board are circulated in advance of each meeting at two of 
this year’s scheduled board meetings there was less than 
full attendance with if  greenock and js espey each both
missing one meeting the appropriate directors who formed 
a quorum attended additional technical board meetings
during the year
matters relating to trading cash flows product development
and operations are discussed and considered by the
management committee which is chaired by the chief
executive and consists of the three functional directors and
six senior managers this committee has twelve scheduled
meetings annually
the board has also established three board committees each
of which has clear terms of reference these committees are
• the remuneration committee whose composition and report
is set out on page 22 the committee met four times during
the year all members in attendance
• the audit committee which is comprised of rg hanna 
as chairman and js espey the committee met twice
during the year with the external auditors and twice also
with the internal auditors following which reports were made
to the board on the published financial statements systems
of internal control risk management systems and processes
at the reviews with the external auditors due consideration
was given to the nature and level of nonaudit services
provided to ensure the objectivity and independence 
of the external auditors at the meetings with the internal
auditors the effectiveness of the internal auditors’ work 
was reviewed both members of the committee attended 
all of the meetings in the year and
• the nominations committee which has responsibility for
nominating for approval by the board candidates for
appointment to the board it is chaired by wrg barr 
its other members are js espey and rg hanna 
the committee met once during the year with all 
members in attendance
appropriate training is provided to new members of the board
during the year the board carried out a formal internal review
of its overall performance and prior to the end of the year
evaluations in respect of the performance of all the individual
directors were conducted
details of directors’ remuneration are given in the 
directors’ remuneration report on pages 22 to 26 none of 
the executive directors currently serve as paid nonexecutive
directors elsewhere
relations with shareholders
the company has regular discussions with and briefings for
analysts and institutional shareholders the chief executive
and finance director normally meet with major shareholders
twice annually and brief the next board meeting on their
discussions all shareholders including private investors 
have an opportunity to participate in questions and answers
with the board on matters relating to the company’s operation
and performance at the annual general meeting
internal control
the combined code requires listed companies to maintain 
a sound system of internal control to safeguard shareholders’
investments and the company’s assets the turnbull report
adopted by the uk listing authority provides guidance for
compliance with that part of the code the company has
introduced procedures in line with the turnbull committee’s
final guidance on internal controls
these procedures include ongoing monthly functional reviews
designed to identify evaluate and manage the significant risks
faced by the company any issues or incidents are addressed
at monthly management committee meetings each quarter
reports are made by each functional director to the management
committee meeting on the risks relating to his area of operation
and the complete risk register is reviewed by the full board twice
a year these procedures are assessed on a regular basis for
their effectiveness
in addition to the above internal auditors are engaged to
assess and report on the systems of internal control throughout
the company
the directors acknowledge that they are responsible for 
the company’s system of internal financial control although 
it must be recognised that such a system can only provide
reasonable but not absolute assurance against loss or
material misstatement the principal elements underlying 
the company’s system of financial control are as follows
• the board as a whole is responsible for the company’s
objectives policies and stewardship of its resources 
it focuses mainly on strategy and financial performance 
the daytoday management of the business is organised 
on a functional basis and because of the size of the
business the functional directors have close contact 
with senior members of all functions
• the company’s activities are subject to an annual budget
process and the management committee and the full 
board review the variances highlighted by the monthly
management accounts in addition financial accounts 
are prepared quarterly from the monthly management
accounts the budgeted annual capital expenditure of 
the company is compared monthly by the board against
actual commitments in concert with a review of the
company’s cash flow position
going concern
on the basis of current financial projections and facilities
available the directors are satisfied that the company has
adequate resources to continue in operational existence for
the foreseeable future and accordingly consider it appropriate
to adopt the going concern basis in preparing accounts
compliance with the revised combined code
during the year to 26th january 2008 the company complied
with the provisions set out in section 1 of the combined 
code revised 2003 except in relation to the notice period 
of executive directors’ contracts
the combined code requires a notice period of a maximum 
of one year in certain circumstances the notice period reverts
to two years for each of the executive directors see page 23
statement on corporate governance
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 21 the remuneration committee
the remuneration committee comprised
js espey chairman
rg hanna
js espey is the senior nonexecutive director of the
company and has served from 16th april 1999 rg hanna
nonexecutive director was appointed to the committee 
on 19th june 2003
the policy and objectives
the policy of the committee is to reward the executive directors
in line with the current remuneration of directors in comparable
businesses taking into consideration the advice of independent
benefit consultants in order to recruit motivate and retain high
quality executives within a competitive marketplace
executive directors’ remuneration
i basic salary and benefits
basic salaries and benefits in kind are reviewed within 
the policy on an annual basis
ii share and bonus schemes
a allemployee share ownership plan aesop
the introduction of an allemployee share ownership
plan was approved at the annual general meeting of
the company on 21st may 2001 and is hm revenue
and customs hmrc approved executive directors
participate in both sections of the scheme which is
open to all employees 
the partnership share element currently provides 
that for every three shares an individual purchases 
in agbarr plc to a maximum contribution of £125
per month the company has agreed to purchase one
matching share which is held in trust in the name of
the individual there are various rules as to the period
of time that the shares must be held in trust but after
five years the shares can be released tax free 
the second element relates to free shares under 
the terms of this section all participants can receive
shares to the value of a common percentage of their
earnings related to the performance of the group
the shares appropriated are to a maximum annual
value of £3000 and are held in trust for five years 
under the terms of this scheme the matching 
shares will be forfeit if employment with the company
terminates within three years of the award and all
other partnership matching and free shares must 
be removed from the trust if employment with the
company ceases
b savings related share option scheme saye
the savings related share option scheme is a
hmrc approved scheme available to all employees
including executive directors and is based on a five
year savings contract which provides an option to
purchase shares after five years at a discounted price
fixed at the time the contract is taken out or earlier 
as provided by the scheme rules
c performance related share scheme prss
the purpose of this scheme was to reward executive
directors and other senior employees for achieving
above average performance in the profits of the group
which would also benefit shareholders the final
award under this scheme was provided for the year 
to 25th january 2003 and the scheme has been
replaced by the ltip 2003 at e below subject 
to the discretion of the remuneration committee
participants were awarded bonuses following an
increase in earnings per share of at least 2
1
2 above
the retail price index providing the executive was 
still in the employment of the company at the end
of the scheme year the annual bonus value awarded 
to a participant in respect of a scheme year was on 
a sliding scale commencing at 8
1
3 and could not
exceed 50 of the executive’s annual base salary
the bonuses are released as follows
• normally one third of the value of the bonus 
was in cash and released immediately on award
• the remainder of the value of the bonus was 
in the form of shares which would not normally 
be released earlier than five scheme years after 
the end of the relevant scheme year
if the average earnings per share for not less than 
five nor more than seven scheme years following 
the year of award exceeds the earnings per share 
of that scheme year by no less than the average annual
percentage rate of inflation for the comparative scheme
years plus 2
1
2 additional matching shares will be
awarded to participants under the rules of the scheme
the performance conditions described above 
were chosen to align executives’ bonus payments 
to company performance both in the shortterm 
and over a five to seven year period
d annual performance bonus
this scheme is principally available to reward senior
executives including executive directors for achieving
above average performance in the profits of the group
if earnings per share in the current year exceeds the
previous year’s number as adjusted by the retail
price index by a sliding scale from 25 to over
30 the bonus reflects this earnings movement and
is paid in cash as a percentage of each executive’s
base salary from 10 to a maximum of 75
e longterm incentive plan 2003 ltip
this scheme was approved by shareholders at 
the annual general meeting held on 19th may 2003
and replaced the prss at c above it is available 
to reward senior executives including executive
directors if the average earnings per share of the
three years running up to and including the year of
calculation exceeds the average of the three years
preceding that period both being adjusted for retail
price index by a sliding scale from 10 to over 
50 the award payable in shares is valued as 
a percentage of the basic salary of executives on 
a scale from 125 to 75 for the maximum award
f executive share option scheme esos
this scheme was approved by shareholders at the
annual general meeting held on 19th may 2003 but
no options have been awarded
iii elements of remuneration
• basic salary and benefits
• performance related components in the year to 
26th january 2008 these were the free share element 
of the aesop at a above the prss at c above 
the annual performance bonus at d above and the
ltip at e above
the balance of these elements is intended to align
executives’ longer term interests with those of
shareholders in 2008 the performance related elements 
of the remuneration package amounted to 2842 
of the total in 2007 this was 2322 of the total
directors’ remuneration report
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
22 annual report and accounts 2008 iv pension rights
under the terms of their service contracts executive
directors are members of the agbarr plc executive
pension scheme which has been altered to include 
a defined contribution section the defined benefit 
section was closed to new entrants with effect from 
14th august 2003
the defined benefit section four executive directors
provides pensions for directors of up to 222 of
pensionable pay for each year of pensionable service
completed up to the normal retirement date of 63
executive directors dismissed for reasons other than
gross misconduct are entitled under their contract of
employment to have their deferred pension adjusted to
allow for the increase in the retail price index between 
the date of leaving the company and normal retirement
date any difference between the benefit in the contract 
of employment and that provided by the pension plan 
will be met by the company 
the defined contribution section one executive director
provides a fund from which a pension may be bought 
the level of contribution payable by both member 
and company varies upwards dependent on either 
age or length of pensionable service with the company 
where required benefits based on salary in excess of 
the earnings cap are provided on an unapproved basis
v service contracts
the service contracts for each of the executive directors
and that of the chairman provide for a period of notice 
of one year except during the six months following 
either a takeover of or by the company or a company
reconstruction when the notice period reverts in certain
circumstances to two years for each of the executive
directors directors are required to give six month’s notice
of termination
executive directors have no contractual entitlement to
termination payments other than those related to their
period of notice
share price performance
the graph above plots the total shareholder return for the
ordinary share capital of agbarr plc against the ftse
smallcap index which has been selected as the most
appropriate measure in the opinion of the board no readily
identifiable benchmark group of companies exists
directors’ remuneration report
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 23
year to january
index
agbarrplc
ftsesmallcap
0
50
100
150
200
250
350
300
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 directors’ remuneration
2008 2007
£000 £000
salaries 843 803
benefits 71 97
aesop free shares 12 12
annual performance bonus 174 137
longterm incentive plan 202 146
pension contributions – defined contribution plan 21 20
fees to nonexecutive directors 64 62
1387 1277
the all employee share ownership plan free shares are shown when appropriated whereas the longterm incentive plan 2003 deferred shares are accruals for the relevant period
the remuneration of the executive directors was as follows
wrg barr ra white aa bibby if  greenock jd kemp
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
salaries 111 282 150 150 150
benefits 15 21 29 15
aesop free shares –3333
annual performance bonus – 66 36 36 36
longterm incentive plan – 82 40 40 40
12 months to 26th january 2008 112 438 250 258 244
12 months to 27th january 2007 130 381 227 212 245
the aggregate gain made by the directors during the year on the vesting of the ltip award the vesting of the prss award and the exercise of saye options was £910977 
directors’ pensions
increase in accrued pension during year net of inflation 11 7 6 3
accrued annual pension entitlement at 26th january 2008 212 33 99 101
transfer value of net increase in accrued pension at 26th january 2008 194 48 122 64
value of accrued pension at 27th january 2007 3595 226 1685 2209
value of accrued pension at 26th january 2008 3913 344 2135 2598
total change in value during the year net of member contributions 318 96 441 379
the increase in accrued pension during the year excludes any increase for inflation
the transfer value has been calculated on the basis of actuarial advice in accordance with actuarial guidance note gn11 the figures showing the transfer value of net increase in accrued pension 
at 26th january 2008 include an allowance for the costs of providing death in service benefits the change in the amount of the transfer value during the year is made up of the following elements
a transfer value of the increase in accrued pension
b change in the transfer value of accrued pension at the start of the year due to ageing and
c the impact of any change in the economic or mortality assumptions underlying the transfer value basis
directors pay contributions as required by the scheme and these amounts are offset in calculating the values shown in the rows entitled transfer value of net increase in accrued pension 
at 26th january 2008 and total change in value during the year net of member contributions
jd kemp is a member of the defined contribution section of the executive pension scheme during the year the company paid contributions in respect of jd kemp of £21060 2007 £19900
directors’ remuneration report
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
24 annual report and accounts 2008 directors’ interests
estimated potential performance share awards
awards awards awards total share price
vesting lapsing made potential on date performance
as at during during during as at award date of of award period end
plan 270107 the year the year the year 260108 available award pence january
wrg barr a 6362 – – – 6362 6362 160403 4883 200810
6197 6197 – – – 6197 190401 4621 200608
b 6362 – – – 6362 6362 160403 4883 200810
6197 6197 – – – 6197 190401 4621 200608
total 25118 12394 – – 12724
ra white a 6997 – – – 6997 6997 160403 4883 200810
b 6997 – – – 6997 6997 160403 4883 200810
c – – – 7446 7446 16547 note 13330 2010
8812––– 8812 19581 note 10183 2009
9209 – – – 9209 20465 note 9250 2008
11432 16547 – 5115 – 25404 note 7085 2007
total 43447 16547 – 12561 39461
aa bibby a 4171––– 4171 4171 160403 4883 200810
4065 4065 – – – 4065 190401 4621 200608
b 4171 – – – 4171 4171 160403 4883 200810
4065 4065 – – – 4065 190401 4621 200608
c – – – 3981 3981 8847 note 13300 2010
4711––– 4711 10469 note 10183 2009
4924 – – – 4924 10942 note 9250 2008
6112 8847 – 2735 – 13583 note 7085 2007
total 32219 16977 – 6716 21958
if greenock a 4171 ––– 4171 4171 160403 4883 200810
3638 3638 – – – 3638 190401 4621 200608
b 4171––– 4171 4171 160403 4883 200810
3638 3638 – – – 3638 190401 4621 200608
c – – – 3981 3981 8847 note 13300 2010
4711––– 4711 10469 note 10183 2009
4924 – – – 4924 10942 note 9250 2008
6112 8847 – 2735 – 13583 note 7085 2007
total 31365 16123 – 6716 21958
jd kemp c – – – 3981 3981 8847 note 13300 2010
4711 – – – 4711 10469 note 10183 2009
4924 – – – 4924 10942 note 9250 2008
6112 8847 – 2735 – 13583 note 7085 2007
total 15747 8847 – 6716 13616
plan a performance related share scheme deferred shares
b performance related share scheme potential matching shares
c longterm incentive plan 2003 estimated bonus shares
note
refer to directors’ remuneration report on page 22
the final award under the performance related share scheme was for the year ended 25th january 2003
directors’ remuneration report
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 25 directors’ share options
the options of the executive directors at 26th january 2008 over the ordinary share capital of the company were as under noted
options options options market price
options granted exercised lapsed options exercise at date of date from
asat during during during as at price exercise which expiry
270107 the year the year the year 260108 pence pence exercisable date
aa bibby 1703 – – – 1703 776 – 010810 010211
if  greenock – 716 – – 716 975 – 311012 010213
1955 – 1955 – – 336 1172 011207 010608
1022 – – – 1022 776 – 010810 010211
ra white – 275 – – 275 975 – 311012 010213
1703 – – – 1703 776 – 010810 010211
jd kemp 1703 – – – 1703 776 – 010810 010211
the share price as at 26th january 2008 was 11490p and the highest and lowest prices during the year were 12400p and 8835p respectively the beneficial interests of the directors in the ordinary
shares of the company are as follows
2008 2007
executive directors
wrg barr 1245087 1237650
ra white 26957 18344
aa bibby 91991 81170
if  greenock 41411 31844
jd kemp 14896 10120
nonexecutive directors
js espey 11000 11000
rg hanna 25000 25000
if greenock has nonbeneficial interests in 348059 shares 2007 665743 shares under trusteeships of various employee share schemes wrg barr has nonbeneficial interests in 1685968
shares 2007 1685968 shares as trustee of a charitable trust and several family trusts there have been the following changes notified in the directors’ shareholdings between 26th january 2008
and 18th april 2008 if  greenock an increase in beneficial holding of 40 shares and a reduction in nonbeneficial holding of 4503 shares ra white an increase in beneficial holding of 41 shares
aa bibby an increase in beneficial holding of 14 shares and jd kemp an increase in beneficial holding of 40 shares
nonexecutive directors
fees
the fees of nonexecutive directors are determined by the board as a whole having regard to the commitment of time required and the level of fees in similar companies during the year the fees 
to directors were as noted below
2008 2007
£000 £000
js espey 32 31
rg hanna 32 31
64 62
service contracts
nonexecutive directors are employed on renewable fixed term contracts not exceeding three years
information subject to audit
under part 3 of schedule 7a of the companies act 1985 the following sections of this report are subject to audit directors’ remuneration directors’ pensions directors’ share options and 
nonexecutive directors’ fees
on behalf of the board
ja barr
secretary
directors’ remuneration report
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
26 annual report and accounts 2008 group
2008 2007
note £000 £000
revenue 148377 141876
cost of sales 76068 71453
gross profit 72309 70423
net operating expenses 2 51920 52089
operating profit before exceptional items 20389 18334
exceptional items
restructuring costs 3 639 5076
exceptional credit 3 171 –
gain on disposal 3 – 2315
exceptional items 468 2761
operating profit 19921 15573
finance income 4 924 1158
finance costs 5 12 377
profit before tax 20833 16354
tax on profit 8 3995 3163
profit attributable to equity shareholders 16838 13191
dividend per share paid 9 3575p 3225p
dividend paid £000 9 6751 6077
dividend per share proposed 9 2800p 2475p
dividend proposed £000 9 5449 4817
basic earnings per share 10 8675p 6965p
diluted earnings per share 10 8565p 6815p
statements of recognised income and expense
group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
actuarial gainloss recognised on defined benefit pension plans 26 5167 907 5167 907
deferred tax movements on items taken directly to equity 22 2649 366 2649 366
current tax movements on items taken directly to equity 8 909 – 909 –
net cost recognised directly in equity 3427 541 3427 541
profit for the period 16838 13191 16668 13057
total recognised income and expense for the period 20265 12650 20095 12516
attributable to equity shareholders 20265 12650 20095 12516
consolidated income statement
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 27 group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
note £000 £000 £000 £000
noncurrent assets
intangible assets 11 10656 9742 10656 9742
property plant and equipment 12 53373 52278 52751 51402
investment in subsidiaries 13 – – 205 205
deferred tax assets 22 – 699 – 731
64029 62719 63612 62080
current assets
inventories 14 12339 11409 12285 11299
trade and other receivables 15 25965 25406 25634 24983
cash at bank 17899 19097 17593 18957
current tax 557 – 648 14
assets classified as held for sale 16 2910 – 2864 –
59670 55912 59024 55253
total assets 123699 118631 122636 117333
current liabilities
trade and other payables 17 28163 28776 29085 29347
provisions 18 284 2262 284 2262
current tax – 59 – –
28447 31097 29369 31609
noncurrent liabilities
deferred income 20 72 73 72 73
retirement benefit obligations 26 8009 16084 8009 16084
deferred tax liabilities 22 2393 – 2388 –
10474 16157 10469 16157
capital and reserves attributable to equity shareholders
called up share capital 21 4865 4865 4865 4865
share premium account 28 905 905 905 905
own shares held 28 3717 4439 3717 4439
share options reserve 28 964 1923 964 1923
retained earnings 28 81761 68123 79781 66313
84778 71377 82798 69567
total equity and liabilities 123699 118631 122636 117333
the financial statements on pages 27 to 55 were approved by the board of directors on 31st march 2008 and were signed on its behalf by
wrg barr if greenock 
chairman finance director
balance sheets
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
28 annual report and accounts 2008 group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
operating activities
profit before tax 20833 16354 20628 16166
adjustments for
interest receivable 924 1158 913 1152
interest payable 12 377 12 377
depreciation of property plant and equipment 6668 5654 6393 5381
impairment of plant – 300 – 300
impairment of assets classified as held for sale 96 – – –
amortisation of intangible assets 233 160 233 160
share options costs 385 359 385 359
gain on sale of property plant and equipment 33 1485 33 1485
government grants written back 1 538 1 538
operating cash flows before movements in working capital 27269 20023 26704 19568
increase in inventories 930 1727 986 1703
increase in receivables 559 1893 651 1807
decreaseincrease in payables 1922 6212 1571 6236
decrease in retirement benefit obligations 2855 1071 2855 1071
cash generated by operations 21003 21544 20641 21223
tax on profit paid 3259 4786 3216 4734
net cash from operating activities 17744 16758 17425 16489
investing activities
acquisition of intangible assets 892 – 892 –
acquisition of strathmore – 15537 – 15537
proceeds on sale of property plant and equipment 1043 6760 993 6722
purchase of property plant and equipment 12448 14501 12234 14216
interest received 924 1158 913 1152
net cash used in investing activities 11373 22120 11220 21879
financing activities
purchase of own shares 2227 1052 2227 1052
sale of own shares 1421 553 1421 553
interest paid 12 377 12 377
dividends paid 6751 6077 6751 6077
net cash used in financing activities 7569 6953 7569 6953
net decrease in cash and cash equivalents 1198 12315 1364 12343
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 19097 31412 18957 31300
cash and cash equivalents at end of period 17899 19097 17593 18957
cash flow statements
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 29 the financial statements were authorised for issue by the
directors on 31st march 2008
statement of compliance
the consolidated financial statements have been prepared in
accordance with international financial reporting standards
ifrs with its interpretations adopted by the international
accounting standards board iasb
standards amendment and interpretations 
effective in 2008
ifrs 7 financial instruments disclosures and the
complementary amendment to ias 1 presentation of financial
statements – capital disclosures introduces new disclosures
relating to financial instruments and does not have any impact
on the classification and valuation of the group’s financial
instruments or the disclosures relating to taxation and trade
and other payables
ifric 8 scope of ifrs 2 requires consideration of transactions
involving the issuance of equity instruments where the
identifiable consideration received is less than the fair value 
of the equity instruments issued in order to establish whether 
or not they fall within the scope of ifrs 2 this standard does
not have any impact on the group’s financial statements
ifric 10 interim financial reporting and impairment prohibits
the impairment losses recognised in an interim period on
goodwill and investments in equity instruments and in financial
assets carried at cost to be reversed at a subsequent balance
sheet date this standard does not have any impact on the
group’s financial statements
standards amendments and interpretations to existing
standards that are not yet effective and have not been
early adopted by the group
the following standards amendments and interpretations to
existing standards have been published and are mandatory
for the group’s accounting periods beginning on or after 
1st january 2008 or later periods but the group has not 
early adopted them
ias 23 amendment borrowing costs effective from 
1st january 2009 the amendment to the standard is still
subject to endorsement by the european union it requires 
an entity to capitalise borrowing costs directly attributable
to the acquisition construction or production of a qualifying
asset one that takes a substantial period of time to get ready
for use or sale as part of the cost of that asset the option 
of immediately expensing those borrowing costs will be
removed the group will apply ias 23 amended from 
1st february 2009 but is currently not applicable to the 
group as there are no qualifying assets
ifrs 8 operating segments effective from 1st january 2009
ifrs 8 replaces ias 14 and aligns segment reporting with 
the requirements of the us standard sfas 131 ‘disclosures
about segments of an enterprise and related information’  
the new standard requires a ‘management approach’  under
which segment information is presented on the same basis 
as that used for internal reporting purposes the group will
apply ifrs 8 from 1st february 2009 the expected impact 
is still being assessed in detail by management but it appears
likely that the number of reportable segments as well as 
the manner in which the segments are reported will change 
in a manner that is consistent with the internal reporting
provided to the chief operating decisionmaker as goodwill 
is allocated to groups of cashgenerating units based on
segment level the change will also require management to
reallocate goodwill to the newly identified operating segments
management does not anticipate that this will result in any
material impairment to the goodwill balance
ifric 11 ifrs 2 – group and treasury share transactions 
effective from 1st march 2007 ifric 11 provides guidance
on whether sharebased transactions involving treasury 
shares or involving group entities for example options over 
a parent’s shares should be accounted for as equity settled 
or cashsettled sharebased payment transactions in the
standalone accounts of the parent and group companies
this interpretation does not have an impact on the group’s
financial statements
ifric 14 ias 19 – the limit on a defined benefit asset
minimum funding requirements and their interaction effective
from 1st january 2008 ifric 14 provides guidance on
assessing the limit in ias 19 on the amount of the surplus 
that can be recognised as an asset it also explains how 
the pension asset or liability may be affected by a statutory 
or contractual minimum funding requirement the group will
apply ifric 14 from 27th january 2008 but it is not expected
to have any impact on the group’s accounts
new standards and interpretations not yet adopted
the following interpretations to published standards are
mandatory for accounting periods beginning on or after 
1st january 2007 but they are not relevant to the 
group’s operations
ifric 9 reassessment of embedded derivatives
ifric 12 service concession arrangements
basis of preparation
the financial statements are prepared on the historical 
cost basis
the preparation of financial statements which comply 
with the provisions of ifrs requires management to make
judgements estimates and assumptions that affect the
application of policies and reported amounts of assets and
liabilities as well as income and expenses the estimates and
associated assumptions are based on historical experience
and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable
under the circumstances the results of which form the basis 
of the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not
readily apparent from other sources actual results may 
differ from these estimates the critical assumptions made
concern the share schemes offered to employees and the
retirement benefit obligation the assumptions are detailed 
in notes 25 and 26
the accounting policies set out below have been applied
consistently to all periods presented in these consolidated
financial statements and have been applied consistently 
by the group entities
basis of consolidation
subsidiaries are entities controlled by the company control
exists when the company has the power directly or indirectly
to govern the financial and operating policies of an entity so 
as to obtain benefits from its activities in assessing control
potential voting rights that presently are exercisable or
convertible are taken into account the financial statements 
of subsidiaries are included in the consolidated financial
statements from the date that control commences until 
the date that control ceases 
intragroup balances and any unrealised gains and losses 
or income and expenses arising from intragroup transactions
are eliminated in preparing the consolidated financial
statements unrealised losses are eliminated in the same
way as unrealised gains but only to the extent that there 
is no evidence of impairment
no income statement is presented for the company 
as permitted by s2304 of the companies act 1985
goodwill
goodwill represents the excess of the cost of the acquisition
over the group’s interest in the net fair value of the identifiable
assets liabilities and contingent liabilities of the acquiree
subsequent remeasurement is at cost less accumulated
impairment losses
accounting policies
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
30 annual report and accounts 2008 intangibles
intangible assets with a finite useful life are amortised to the
consolidated income statement on a straightline basis over
their estimated useful lives which are reviewed on an annual
basis amortisation commences when the intangible asset 
is available for use the residual values of intangible assets
are assumed to be zero
the estimated useful lives of the intangible assets are
estimated to be as follows
customer relationships 3 to 5 years
brands
brands represents the brand intangible assets recognised on 
the acquisition of the other businesses or acquired individually
for brands acquired individually the cost at acquisition includes
professional fees incurred in acquiring the brand they are
deemed to have an infinite life subsequent remeasurement 
is at cost less accumulated impairment losses
customer relationships
customer relationships represents the purchase price of
customer lists and contractual relationships purchased 
on the acquisition of the strathmore water business
property plant and equipment
owned assets
items of property plant and equipment are stated at cost 
or as deemed cost less accumulated depreciation certain
properties have been revalued to fair value on 1st february
2004 the date of transition to ifrs where items of property
plant and equipment have different useful lives they are
accounted for as separate assets
subsequent costs
the group recognises in the carrying amount of an item 
of property plant and equipment the cost of replacing part 
of such an item when that cost is incurred if it is anticipated
that the future economic benefits of the item will flow to the
group over its remaining life and the cost of the item can 
be measured reliably all other costs are recognised in the
income statement as an expense as incurred
depreciation
depreciation is charged to the income statement on a
straightline basis over the estimated useful lives of each 
part of an item of property plant and equipment land is 
not depreciated the depreciation rates are as follows
buildings 1
leasehold land and buildings term of lease
plant equipment and vehicles 10 to 33
impairment
assets that have an indefinite life are not subject to
amortisation and are tested annually for impairment assets
that are subject to amortisation or depreciation are reviewed
for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances
indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable 
an impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which 
the asset’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount
the recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value
less costs to sell and value in use
details of the impairment review are included in note 11
research and development
expenditure on research activities undertaken with the
prospect of gaining new scientific or technical knowledge 
and understanding is recognised in the income statement 
as an expense as incurred 
expenditure on development activities whereby research
findings are applied to a plan or design for the production 
of new substantially improved products and processes 
is capitalised if the product or process is technically and
commercially feasible
inventories
inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable
value net realisable value is the estimated selling price in 
the ordinary course of the business less the estimated costs 
of completion and selling expenses 
the cost of inventories is based on the firstin firstout
principle and includes expenditure incurred in acquiring the
inventories and bringing them to their existing location and
condition this includes an appropriate share of overheads
based on normal operating activity
own shares held
share capital is purchased to satisfy the liability of various
employee share schemes and is held in trust the amount
of the consideration paid including directly attributable costs
is recognised as a change in equity purchased shares are
classified as own shares held and presented as a deduction
from total equity
employee benefits
defined contribution pension plans
obligations for contributions to defined contribution pension
plans are recognised as an expense in the income statement
as incurred
defined benefit pension plans
the group’s net obligation in respect of defined benefit
pension plans is calculated separately for each plan by
estimating the amount of future benefit that employees have
earned in return for their service in the current and prior
periods that benefit is discounted to determine its present
value and the fair value of any plan assets is deducted the
discount rate is the yield at the balance sheet date on aaa
credit rated bonds that have maturity dates approximating 
to the terms of the group’s obligations the calculation is
performed by a qualified actuary using the projected unit
credit method 
actuarial gains and losses that arise in calculating the group’s
obligation in respect of a plan are recognised in full in the year
in which they occur through the consolidated statement of
recognised income and expense sorie in accordance with
the amendment to ias 19 issued on 16th december 2004
sharebased payment transactions
the group issues equitysettled sharebased payments to
certain employees these are measured at fair value excluding
the effect of non marketbased vesting conditions at the grant
date the fair value determined at the grant date of the equity
settled sharebased payment is expensed on a straightline
basis over the vesting period based on the group’s estimate 
of the shares that will eventually vest and adjusted for the
effect of non marketbased vesting conditions
fair value is measured using the blackscholes pricing model
the group also provides employees with the ability to purchase
the company’s ordinary shares at a discount to the current
market value through the employees’ payroll the group records
an expense as the shares are purchased by the employee
the fair value of the sharebased payments is charged to the
income statement and credited to the share options reserve
on exercise the fair value is credited to retained reserves from
the share options reserve
accounting policies
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 31 deferred income
government grants in respect of capital expenditure are
treated as deferred credits and a proportion of the grants
based on the depreciation rate for the related property plant
and equipment is credited each year to the income statement
revenue
revenue is the net invoiced sales value exclusive of value
added tax of goods and services supplied to external
customers during the year
leased assets
rentals paid under operating leases are charged to the
income statement on a straight line basis over the term of the
lease lease incentives received are recognised in the income
statement as an integral part of the total lease expense and
spread to the first rent break period
tax
tax on the profit or loss for the year comprises current and
deferred tax current tax is charged in the income statement
except to where it relates to tax on items recognised directly
in equity in which case it is charged to equity
current tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable income
for the year using tax rates enacted or substantially enacted
at the balance sheet date and any adjustment to tax payable
in respect of previous years
deferred tax is provided in full using the liability method
providing for temporary differences between the tax bases 
of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the
consolidated financial statements the following temporary
differences are not provided for
• the initial recognition of goodwill
• the initial recognition of assets or liabilities that affect
neither accounting nor taxable profit
• differences relating to investments in subsidiaries to 
the extent that they will probably not reverse in the
foreseeable future
deferred tax is determined using tax rates and laws that have
been enacted or substantially enacted by the balance sheet
date and are expected to apply when the related deferred 
tax asset is realised or the deferred tax liability is settled
a deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that 
it is probable that future taxable profits will be available
against which the asset can be utilised deferred tax assets
are reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that 
the related tax benefit will be realised
segment reporting
a segment is a distinguishable component of the group that 
is engaged either in providing products or services business
segment or in providing products or services within a
particular economic environment geographical segment
which is subject to risks and rewards that are different from
those of other segments
noncurrent assets held for sale
immediately before classification as held for sale the measure
of the assets is brought uptodate in accordance with
applicable ifrs on initial classification as assets held for
sale noncurrent assets and disposal groups are recognised
at the lower of the carrying amount and fair value less relevant
costs impairment losses on initial classification as held 
for sale are included in the income statement even when
there is a revaluation this also applies to gains and losses 
on subsequent remeasurement
exceptional items
exceptional items are costs and income that are not expected
to recur in the normal course of business
financial instruments
financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised on 
the group’s balance sheet when the group becomes a party 
to the contractual provision of the instrument the principal
treasury objective is to provide sufficient liquidity to meet
operational cash requirements whilst maximising shareholder
value the company operates controlled treasury policies
which are monitored by the board to ensure that the needs 
of the company are met as they arise
financial assets
the group classifies its financial assets under the one
category of loans and receivables loans and receivables 
are nonderivative financial assets with fixed or determinable
payments that are not quoted in an active market they are
included in current assets the group’s loans and receivables
comprise of trade and other receivables and cash and 
cash equivalents
the group does not hold any derivative financial instruments
or carry out any hedging activities
trade and other receivables are not interest bearing and are
stated at the expected recoverable amount
a provision for impairment of trade receivables is established
when there is objective evidence that the group will not 
be able to collect all amounts due according to the original
terms of the receivables significant financial difficulties of 
the debtor probability that the debtor will enter bankruptcy 
or financial reorganisation and default or delinquency in
payments are considered indicators that the trade receivable
is impaired the amount of the provision is the difference
between the asset’s carrying amount and the estimated cash
flows no present value calculations are made as no interest 
is charged on trade receivables the carrying amount of the
asset is reduced through the use of a bad debt provision
account and the amount of the loss is recognised in the
income statement within administration expenses when 
a trade receivable is uncollectable it is written off against 
the bad debt provision
cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and on
deposit and are subject to an insignificant risk of changes 
in value
trade and other payables
trade and other payables are not interest bearing and are
stated at cost cost is taken to be fair value
provisions
a provision is recognised if as the result of a past event 
the group has a present or legal constructive obligation that
can be estimated reliably and it is probable that an outflow 
of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation
a restructuring provision is recognised when the group has
approved a detailed and formal restructuring plan which has
been either announced or has commenced future operating
costs are not provided for
financial risk factors
the group’s activities expose it to a variety of financial 
risks market risk including foreign exchange risk cash flow
interest rate risk and price risk credit risk and liquidity risk
the group’s overall risk management programme focuses on
the unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to minimise
potential adverse effects on the group’s financial performance
risk management is carried out by the finance department
under policies approved by the board of directors the group
finance department identifies evaluates and manages financial
risks in close cooperation with the group’s operating units
the board provides guidance on overall risk management
including foreign exchange risk interest rate risk credit risk
and investment of excess liquidity
accounting policies
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
32 annual report and accounts 2008 a market risk
i foreign exchange risk
foreign exchange risk arises when future commercial
transactions or recognised assets or liabilities are
denominated in a currency that is not the group’s
functional currency the group operates internationally
with one exception foreign exchange risk is managed
through invoicing customers in sterling the one
exception is a customer who is invoiced in us dollars
using the spot rate the group bears the risk of
adverse exchange rate movements no forward
contracts or derivatives are entered in to as the 
level of turnover does not make this cost effective
ii price risk
the group is not exposed to equity securities price
risk because no investments are held by the group
the group is not exposed to commodity price risk
iii cash flow and fair value interest rate risk
with the exception of cash at bank the group has 
no significant interestbearing assets or liabilities
resulting in the group’s income and operating cash
flows being substantially independent of changes 
in market interest rates
b credit risk
credit risk is managed on a group basis credit risk arises
from cash and cash equivalents and deposits with banks
and financial institutions as well as credit exposures to
major and direct to store customers including outstanding
receivables and committed transactions for banks and
financial institutions only independently rated parties with 
a minimum rating of ‘a’ are accepted if major customers
are independently rated these ratings are used otherwise
if there is no independent rating risk control assesses 
the credit quality of the customer taking into account 
its financial position past experience and other factors
individual risk limits are set based on internal or external
ratings in accordance with limits set by the board 
the utilisation of credit limits is regularly monitored 
sales to direct to store customers are settled in cash 
or through invoicing
management does not expect any losses from 
nonperformance by these counterparties
c liquidity risk
prudent liquidity risk management implies maintaining
sufficient cash and marketable securities the availability
of funding through an adequate amount of committed
credit facilities and the ability to close out market
positions due to the dynamic nature of the underlying
businesses the group maintains flexibility in funding by
maintaining sufficient cash reserves and the availability 
of borrowing facilities
management monitors rolling forecasts of the group’s
liquidity reserve comprises undrawn borrowing facility and
cash and cash equivalents on the basis of expected cash
flows this is carried out at a group level in addition the
group’s liquidity management policy involves projecting
cash flows for capital expenditure and considering the
level of liquid assets necessary to meet these
capital risk management
the group’s objectives when managing capital are to
safeguard the group’s ability to continue as a going concern 
in order to provide returns for shareholders and benefits 
for other stakeholders and to maintain an optimal capital
structure to reduce the cost of capital
in order to maintain or adjust the capital structure the group
may adjust the amount of dividends paid to shareholders
return capital to shareholders issue new shares or sell assets
to reduce debt
the group monitors capital on the basis of the return on
capital employed ratio roce this ratio is calculated as
operating profit divided by total assets less current liabilities
the roce figure for the year was 209 2007 178
fair value estimation
the carrying values less impairment provisions of trade
receivables and trade payables are assumed to approximate
their fair values
accounting policies
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 33 1 business and geographical segments
the group’s primary basis of segmentation is by geography for management purposes the group is currently organised into one business segment being the manufacture sale and distribution 
of soft drinks
the group operates predominantly in the uk with some worldwide operations in the previous year the financial statements disclosed two geographical segments uk and worldwide 
the worldwide segment did not meet the reporting requirements to be a reportable segment under ias 14 but the directors included the disclosure on a voluntary basis in the year to 26th january
2008 the directors are of the opinion that there is only one reportable geographical segment
2 net operating expenses
2008 2007
£000 £000
distribution costs 34616 32593
administration expenses 17304 19496
51920 52089
3 exceptional items
following on from the announcement last year the atherton production site’s activities were scaled down in advance of the site closure during the closure period a new can line was installed at the
cumbernauld production site due to technical difficulties with the commissioning of the line the atherton site remained operational longer than had been planned this resulted in additional costs 
at atherton as the site had to remain capable of production up until the new cumbernauld line was fully commissioned this has resulted in the excess costs of keeping atherton operational being
treated as exceptional costs these costs totalled £440000 a further £47000 was incurred in moving the it infrastructure out of atherton and into the cumbernauld facility as part of the closure
the company utilised £1807000 of the £2262000 provision created at 27th january 2007 for the closure of atherton note 18 £284000 of the balance is expected to be required on the sale 
of the site this resulted in an exceptional credit of £171000 arising from the release of the element no longer required
during the year the pitcox production site changed its focus to the filling of 19 litre water containers this resulted in redundancy costs of £56000 being charged to the income statement 
as a result of the change of production focus a bottling line at the site was no longer required and transferred to assets available for sale see note 16 the post year end sale of the bottling line 
for a value less than its net book value has resulted in an impairment charge of £96000 being recognised as an exceptional item in the year to 26th january 2008
during the year to 27th january 2007 the group completed the reorganisation of its sales and logistics facilities in scotland and the move to the consolidated facility at its existing cumbernauld
factory site the sale of the scottish distribution sites resulted in a gain of £1779000 which included property at irvine and wishaw these two properties were classified as assets available for 
sale at 28th january 2006 government grants received at the time of the initial property purchases by the group were released to the income statement with £536000 being recognised as an
exceptional credit previously the grants were released over the expected lifetime of the properties these gains were reduced by redundancy costs of £1292000 relating to the site closures and 
reorganisation and double running costs of £1128000 a further £2356000 was recognised in relation to the closure of the atherton site and £300000 in relation to impairment of assets held 
at atherton
4 finance income
2008 2007
£000 £000
interest receivable 853 1158
net finance income relating to retirement and postemployment benefit schemes 71 –
924 1158
5 finance costs
2008 2007
£000 £000
interest payable 12 6
net finance charge relating to retirement and postemployment benefit schemes – 371
12 377
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
34 annual report and accounts 2008 6 profit for the year
profit for the year has been arrived at after charging crediting
2008 2007
£000 £000
depreciation of property plant and equipment 6668 5654
impairment of plant and equipment – 300
impairment of assets classified as held for sale 96 –
amortisation of intangible assets 233 160
cost of inventories recognised as expense 76068 71453
government grant released 1 538
profit on disposal of property plant and equipment 33 18
other operating lease rentals payable
– property 197 197
trade receivables impairment – 15
sharebased payment costs 385 359
services provided by the group’s auditor
during the year the group obtained the services listed below from the group’s auditor in the year to 26th january 2008 all of the services with the exception of the tax services were supplied 
by baker tilly uk audit llp  in the year to 27th january 2007 all of the services were provided by baker tilly
2008 2007
£000 £000
audit services
fees payable to company auditor of parent company and consolidated accounts 52 77
nonaudit services
fees payable to the company’s auditor for other services
audit of the company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation 5 5
other services pursuant to legislation 31 30
tax services
– baker tilly tax  advisory services llp 22 –
– baker tilly 24 48
other services – 13
fees in respect of the group’s pension plans
audit 9 5
7 employees and directors
2008 2007
average monthly number of people employed by the group and the company including executive directors 898 910
staff costs for the group for the year
£000 £000
wages and salaries 24754 24567
social security costs 2365 2320
other pension costs see note 26 1464 2346
28583 29233
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 35 8 tax on profit
2008 2007
£000 £000
current tax 4492 3623
adjustments in respect of prior years 940 739
total current corporation tax 3552 2884
deferred tax – current year 619 279
overunder provision prior years 176 –
3995 3163
reconciliation of tax charge
profit on ordinary activities before tax 20833 16354
tax at 30 2007 30 thereon 6250 4906
effects of
tax effect of items that are not deductible in determining taxable profit 120 1001
adjustment in respect of prior year 1116 739
deferred tax movement as a result of a change in tax rates 333 –
net pension deduction 183 –
net share scheme deduction 145 –
permanent difference on transfer of assets available for sale 610 –
marginal relief 2 9
other differences 14 6
current tax charge for period 3995 3163
in addition to the current tax expense charged to profit a current tax credit of £909000 2007 nil has been recognised directly in equity this is in respect of sharebased payments a deferred tax
charge of £2649000 2007 credit of £366000 has been recognised in equity in in the year see note 22
during the year as a result of the change in uk corporation tax rates which will be effective from 1st april 2008 deferred tax balances have been remeasured deferred tax relating to temporary
differences which are expected to reverse prior to 1st april 2008 is measured at 30 and deferred tax relating to temporary differences expected to reverse after 1st april 2008 is measured at the
tax rate of 28 as these are the tax rates that will apply on reversal
9 dividends
2008 2007
£000 £000
final paid 7th june 2007 2475p per share 4673 4143
interim paid 26th october 2007 1100p per share 2078 1934
6751 6077
in respect of the current year the directors propose that a final dividend of 2800p per share will be paid to shareholders on 6th june 2008 this dividend is subject to approval by shareholders 
at the annual general meeting and has not been included as a liability in these financial statements the final dividend proposed would amount to £5449000
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
36 annual report and accounts 2008 10 earnings per share
earnings per share have been calculated by dividing the profit attributable to shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period the numbers used 
in calculating basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share are reconciled below
for diluted earnings per share the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares dilutive potential ordinary shares
are shares options granted to employees where the exercise price is less than the average market price of the company’s ordinary shares during the year
2008 2007
£000 £000
net profit attributable to shareholders
earnings – basic and diluted 16838 13191
number number
weighted average number of shares in issue
issued share capital 19461463 19461463
own shares held 334705 517780
weighting adjustment 282460 4617
basic 19409218 18939066
calculation adjustments
savings related share option scheme 104979 330118
aesop matching share scheme 11773 –
ltip share scheme 44424 –
performance related share scheme
deferred shares 87326 86990
matching shares – –
diluted 19657720 19356174
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 37 11 intangible assets
customer water
goodwill brands relationships rights total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
cost
at 28th january 2006 –––––
acquisitions through business combinations 1902 7000 1000 – 9902
at 27th january 2007 1902 7000 1000 – 9902
additions 15 390 – 742 1147
at 26th january 2008 1917 7390 1000 742 11049
amortisation and impairment losses
at 28th january 2006 –––––
amortisation for the year – – 160 – 160
at 27th january 2007 – – 160 – 160
amortisation for the year – – 233 – 233
at 26th january 2008 – – 393 – 393
carrying amounts
at 26th january 2008 1917 7390 607 742 10656
at 27th january 2007 1902 7000 840 – 9742
the opening brand value represents the strathmore brand acquired on the acquisition of the strathmore water business the addition to brands in the year was for the acquisition of the vitsmart
and vitaminsmart brands as part of the acquisition of the vitsmart and vitaminsmart brands a small amount of inventory was acquired after adjusting for the inventory for its fair value goodwill 
of £15000 was recognised as part of the acquisition
the water rights purchase in the year was a payment to obtain the right to draw water from the findlays spring in the lammermuir hills the source of the water used for the findlays brand
previously a royalty payment was made for the volumes drawn from the source and the purchase of the rights has removed the continuing royalty payment 
the group’s goodwill balance brands and water rights are reviewed for impairment annually on a value in use basis the group assesses impairment by reference to a comparison between 
the present value of forecast future cash flows and the carrying value including goodwill of the group both goodwill and the brands have been attributed to the group as a whole as the group 
is expected to benefit from the acquisition the group’s recoverable amount has been based on value in use the main assumptions used in this calculation were an estimated growth rate 
averaging 6 the average pretax rate used to discount the forecast cash flows is 55
the water rights purchased by agbarr plc have been attributed to findlays limited a trading subsidiary as only the water business findlays limited is expected to benefit from the rights purchase
the amortisation of the customer relationships is recognised in the administration expense in the income statement and has a remaining amortisation period of three years
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
38 annual report and accounts 2008 12 property plant and equipment
land and buildings plant assets
long equipment under
freehold leasehold  vehicles construction total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
group
cost or deemed cost
at 28th january 2006 21477 556 81422 7403 110858
additions 55 – 547 14378 14980
transfers from assets under construction 8460 – 10231 18691 –
acquired through acquisition of business 850 – 4405 – 5255
disposals 3915 19 9253 – 13187
at 27th january 2007 26927 537 87352 3090 117906
additions 1667 8 7798 2306 11779
transfers from assets under construction 2289 – 2339 4628 –
transfer to assets classified as held for sale 3777 – 318 – 4095
disposals 16 – 28182 – 28198
at 26th january 2008 27090 545 68989 768 97392
depreciation
at 28th january 2006 2826 190 65507 – 68523
amount charged 250 73 5331 – 5654
impairment of plant and equipment – – 300 – 300
disposals 118 – 8731 – 8849
at 27th january 2007 2958 263 62407 – 65628
amount charged 315 75 6278 – 6668
transfer to assets classified as held for sale 913 – 176 – 1089
disposals 16 – 27172 – 27188
at 26th january 2008 2344 338 41337 – 44019
net book value
at 26th january 2008 24746 207 27652 768 53373
at 27th january 2007 23969 274 24945 3090 52278
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 39 12 property plant and equipment continued
land and buildings plant assets
long equipment under
freehold leasehold  vehicles construction total
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
company
cost or deemed cost
at 28th january 2006 21439 405 79513 7403 108760
additions 55 – 262 14378 14695
transfer from assets under construction 8460 – 10231 18691 –
acquired through acquisition of business 850 – 4405 – 5255
transfer to subsidiary company – – 1 – 1
disposals 3915 19 9152 – 13086
at 27th january 2007 26889 386 85258 3090 115623
additions 1668 8 7583 2306 11565
transfer from assets under construction 2289 – 2339 4628 –
transfer to assets classified as held for sale 3777 – – – 3777
disposals 16 – 28049 – 28065
at 26th january 2008 27053 394 67131 768 95346
depreciation
at 28th january 2006 2825 89 64412 – 67326
amount charged 248 66 5067 – 5381
impairment of plant and equipment – – 300 – 300
disposals 118 – 8668 – 8786
at 27th january 2007 2955 155 61111 – 64221
amount charged 314 68 6010 – 6392
transfer to assets classified as held for sale 913 ––– 913
disposals 16 – 27089 – 27105
at 26th january 2008 2340 223 40032 – 42595
net book value
at 26th january 2008 24713 171 27099 768 52751
at 27th january 2007 23934 231 24147 3090 51402
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
40 annual report and accounts 2008 13 investment in subsidiaries
company
2008 2007
£000 £000
cost as at 26th january 2008 205 205
principal operating subsidiaries place of incorporation and operation principal activity
barr leasing limited incorporated in england central commercial services
findlays limited incorporated in scotland natural mineral water bottler
all subsidiaries are wholly owned investments in subsidiaries are recorded at cost which is the fair value of the consideration paid
14 inventories
group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
returnable containers 566 677 553 653
materials 1803 1877 1764 1793
finished goods 9970 8855 9968 8853
12339 11409 12285 11299
15 trade and other receivables
group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
trade receivables 23661 23428 23661 23428
less provision for impairment of receivables 445 462 445 462
trade receivables – net 23216 22966 23216 22966
other receivables 702 680 206 144
prepayments and accrued income 2047 1760 2032 1720
amounts due by subsidiary companies – – 180 153
25965 25406 25634 24983
all of the closing group and company trade receivables are uk sterling there are no other currencies included in the closing balances
financial instruments by category
all financial instruments being trade and other receivables and cash and cash equivalents are accounted for as loans and receivables there are no liabilities which are accounted for 
as financial instruments
credit quality of financial assets
based on past experience the group believes that no impairment allowance is necessary in respect of trade receivables not past due 98 of the balance relates to customers that have 
a good track record with the group
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 41 15 trade and other receivables continued
the maximum exposure for both the group and company to credit risk for trade receivables at the reporting date by type of customer was
2008 2007
£000 £000
major customers 20229 19814
direct to store customers 3432 3614
23661 23428
the group’s and company’s most significant customer a uk major customer accounts for £3061000 of the trade receivables carrying amount at 26th january 2008 27th january 2007 £2598000
the ageing of trade receivables at the reporting date for the group and company was
gross impairment gross impairment
2008 2008 2007 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
not past due 19739 – 17699 –
past due 0 to 30 days 2950 – 3741 –
past due 31 to 60 days 298 – 766 –
past due 61 to 120 days 156 – 470 –
more than 120 days 518 445 752 462
23661 445 23428 462
no provision is required in respect of amounts owed by subsidiary companies
movements in the provision for impairment of receivables for the group and company were as follows
2008 2007
£000 £000
at 28th january 2007 462 416
charge for the year – 61
utilised 17 15
at 26th january 2008 445 462
the provision allowance in respect of trade receivables is used to record impairment losses unless the group and company is satisfied that no recovery of the amount owing is possible at that point
the amounts are considered irrecoverable and are written off against the trade receivable directly where trade receivables are past due an assessment is made of individual customers and the
outstanding balance no provision is required in respect of amounts owed by subsidiary companies
the credit quality of the holder of the cash at bank is aa rated none of the financial assets that are fully performing have been renegotiated in the last year
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
42 annual report and accounts 2008 16 assets classified as held for sale
group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
land and buildings 2864 – 2864 –
plant 142 – – –
3006 – 2864 –
impairment of plant following post year end sale 96 – – –
2910 – 2864 –
the atherton production site was closed during the year and the land and building qualifies as an asset held for sale as at 26th january 2008 the proceeds of disposals are expected to exceed 
the net carrying amount of all of the relevant assets and accordingly no impairment loss has been recognised on the classification of these assets as held for sale
during the year the pitcox production site changed its focus to the filling of 19 litre water containers this resulted in a bottling line at the site being taken out of use during the year and transferred
to assets available for sale shortly after the year end a buyer for the line was found but the disposal proceeds were £46000 resulting in an impairment charge of £96000 being recognised in the
year to 26th january 2008
there are no other assets or liabilities associated with the noncurrent assets held for sale other than a government grant of £59000 held in respect of the atherton site this deferred credit was
previously released in line with the depreciation rate for the property whilst the site was in use as the site is no longer being depreciated the grant is no longer being released this will be released
to the income statement on the sale of the atherton site as part of the gain on disposal
17 trade and other payables
group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
trade payables 6237 6147 6215 6147
other taxes and social security costs 2440 1854 2440 1851
accruals 19486 20775 19415 20668
amounts due to subsidiary companies – – 1015 681
28163 28776 29085 29347
the table below summarises the maturity profile of the group’s financial liabilities at 26th january 2008 based on contractual undiscounted payments
2008 2007
less than greater than less than greater than
one month one month total one month one month total
group £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
trade payables 6237 – 6237 6147 – 6147
other taxes and social security costs 2440 – 2440 1854 – 1854
accruals 14686 4800 19486 16775 4000 20775
provision for site closure – 284 284 – 2262 2262
total payable at 26th january 2008 23363 5084 28447 24776 6262 31038
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 43 17 trade and other payables continued
2008 2007
less than greater than less than greater than
one month one month total one month one month total
company £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
trade payables 6215 – 6215 6147 – 6147
other taxes and social security costs 2440 – 2440 1851 – 1851
accruals 8101 11314 19415 9595 11073 20668
amounts due to subsidiary companies 1015 – 1015 681 – 681
provision for site closure – 284 284 – 2262 2262
total payable at 26th january 2008 17771 11598 29369 18274 13335 31609
change in estimate
during the year the company conducted a formal review of its accrual for customer volume rebates as a result of the review the level of the accrual was increased by £611089
18 provisions
group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
at 27th january 2007 2262 – 2262 –
provision made during the year – 2262 – 2262
provision utilised during the year 1807 – 1807 –
provision released during the year 171 – 171 –
at 26th january 2008 284 2262 284 2262
during the year ended 27th january 2007 the company announced the closure of the atherton factory following the announcement the company recognised a provision of £2262000 for 
expected restructuring costs including consulting fees and employee termination costs the employee termination costs were based on a detailed plan agreed between management and 
employee representatives at 26th january 2008 the site had been classified as an asset available for sale and the remaining £284000 of the provision will be utilised when the site is sold
19 financial instruments
bank balances and cash
bank balances and cash held by the group have an original maturity of three months or less the carrying amount of these assets approximates to their fair values
credit risk
the group’s principal financial assets are bank balances and cash and trade and other receivables the amounts presented in the balance sheet are net of allowances for doubtful receivables
the group has no significant concentration of credit risk with exposure spread over a large number of counterparties and customers
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
44 annual report and accounts 2008 20 deferred income
group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
at 27th january 2007 73 611 73 611
credit to income statement 1 538 1 538
at 26th january 2008 72 73 72 73
21 share capital
2008 2007
£ £
ordinary shares of 25p each
authorised 24000000 2007 24000000 6000000 6000000
2008 2007
£ £
issued and fully paid 19461463 2007 19461463 4865366 4865366
the company has one class of ordinary shares which carry no right to fixed income
22 deferred tax
the group’s and company’s deferred tax assets are offset against deferred tax liabilities where there is a legally enforceable right of offset and there is an intention to settle the balances net
consequently the group and company have disclosed their deferred tax asset on a net basis they are set out as below
group company
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
deferred tax assets 2628 6181 2628 6181
deferred tax liabilities 5021 5482 5016 5450
at 26th january 2008 2393 699 2388 731
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 45 22 deferred tax continued
retirement other total accelerated total
benefit sharebased timing deferred tax deferred tax
obligations payments differences tax asset depreciation liability
group £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
at 28th january 2006 4874 846 57 5777 5030 5030
chargecredit to equity for the year 272 369 – 641 275 275
chargecredit to income statement for the year 321 88 4 237 43 43
deferred tax liability recognised on acquisition – – – – 134 134
at 27th january 2007 4825 1303 53 6181 5482 5482
chargecredit to equity for the year 1862 809 – 2671 22 22
chargecredit to income statement for the year 721 108 53 882 439 439
at 26th january 2008 2242 386 – 2628 5021 5021
retirement other total accelerated total
benefit sharebased timing deferred tax deferred tax
obligations payments differences tax asset depreciation liability
company £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
at 28th january 2006 4874 846 57 5777 5009 5009
chargecredit to equity for the year 272 369 – 641 275 275
chargecredit to income statement for the year 321 88 4 237 32 32
deferred tax liability recognised on acquisition – – – – 134 134
at 27th january 2007 4825 1303 53 6181 5450 5450
chargecredit to equity for the year 1862 809 – 2671 22 22
chargecredit to income statement for the year 721 108 53 882 412 412
at 26th january 2008 2242 386 – 2628 5016 5016
no deferred tax asset is recognised in the balance sheet for unused capital losses of £1908000 2007 £1908000
23 lease commitments
total future minimum lease payments under noncancellable operating leases are as follows for both the group and company
group and company
2008 2007
£000 £000
no later than one year 197 197
more than one year but not more than five years 394 591
total lease commitments 591 788
24 contingencies and commitments
group and company
2008 2007
£000 £000
commitments for the acquisition of property plant and equipment 1996 4685
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
46 annual report and accounts 2008 25 sharebased payments
during the year ended 26th january 2008 the group had ten sharebased payment arrangements with its employees the details of the arrangements are described on the following pages
savings related savings related savings related
allemployee share option plan share option plan share option plan
arrangement share ownership plan 2002 2005 2007
nature of the arrangement share award save as you earn scheme save as you earn scheme save as you earn scheme
date of grant each month 1st december 2002 1st august 2005 1st november 2007
number of instruments granted na 543496 242602 166418
exercise price share price at month end date 336p 776p 975p
share price at the date of grant market price 420p 970p 1219p
contractual life years nil 5 5 5
vesting conditions one share awarded by the completion of five year completion of five year completion of five year
company for every three savings contracts savings contracts savings contracts
shares purchased by the
employee with a three
year service period
settlement shares shares shares shares
expected volatility na 492 492 492
expected option life at grant date years 3 5 5 5
riskfree interest rate na 550 510 510
expected dividend dividend yield na 469 469 469
expected departures grant date na 0 0 0
expected outcome of meeting performance criteria at grant date 1 na na na
fair value per granted instrument determined at grant date market price on date 77p 166p 209p
of award each year
valuation model na blackscholes blackscholes blackscholes
longterm incentive longterm incentive longterm incentive longterm incentive
arrangement plan 2005 plan 2006 plan 2007 plan 2008
nature of the arrangement share award share award share award share award
date of grant 24th october 2004 6th april 2005 1st april 2006 20th april 2007
number of instruments granted 66153 53291 50988 43086
exercise price nil nil nil nil
share price at the date of grant 627p 844p 1018p 1330p
contractual life years 3333
vesting conditions average eps of three year average eps of three year average eps of three year average eps of three year
period exceeds average eps period exceeds average eps period exceeds average eps period exceeds average eps
of previous three year period of previous three year period of previous three year period of previous three year period
settlement shares shares shares shares
expected volatility 547 506 520 520
expected option life at grant date years 3 3 3 3
riskfree interest rate 550 550 500 500
expected dividend dividend yield 469 469 469 469
expected departures grant date 0 0 0 0
expected outcome of meeting performance criteria at grant date 45 45 45 45
fair value per granted instrument determined at grant date 544p 733p 885p 1155p
valuation model blackscholes blackscholes blackscholes blackscholes
during the year the longterm incentive plan 2005 matured and all of the outstanding share awards were exercised
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 47 25 sharebased payments continued
prss matching prss deferred executive share
arrangement shares 2003 shares 2003 option scheme
nature of the arrangement share award share award grant of share options
date of grant 16th april 2003 16th april 2003 na
number of instruments granted 32163 32163 na
exercise price nil nil na
share price at the date of grant 488p 488p na
contractual life years 5 5 na
vesting conditions five year service period three year service period na
and eps is greater than the
average eps over the
previous five to seven years
settlement shares shares na
expected volatility 610 610 na
expected option life at grant date years 5 5 na
riskfree interest rate 550 550 na
expected dividend dividend yield 469 674 na
expected departures grant date 0 0 na
expected outcome of meeting performance criteria at grant date 100 100 na
fair value per granted instrument determined at grant date 386p 488p na
valuation model blackscholes na na
in addition to the sharebased payment arrangements listed are prss matching share 2001 and prss deferred shares 2001 arrangements these matured in the year to 26th january 2008 both of
these arrangements had dates of grant before 7th november 2002 and as a result were accounted for under ukgaap as permitted by ifrs 2 the grant date was 19th april 2001 on which date
the share price was 462p a total of 54714 shares were awarded during the year for these two arrangements
the executive share option scheme was approved at the annual general meeting held on 19th may 2003 and replaced the prss scheme as yet no options have been awarded under the scheme
the group uses a blackscholes model to value share options and share awards the expected volatility for the share option arrangements is based on historical volatility determined by the analysis
of the monthly share price movements over the past three years
the following information applies to the savings related share option plans outstanding at the end of each period
2008 2008 2007 2007
number of weighted average number of weighted average
range of exercise prices options exercise price options exercise price
outstanding share options at the beginning of the period 591220 489p 663943 493p
granted in period 168814 975p – –
forfeited in period 22579 764p 58790 569p
exercised in period 394307 348p 13933 350p
expired in period – – – –
outstanding share options at the end of the period 343148 872p 591220 489p
weighted average remaining contractual life of outstanding share options 4– 3–
exercisable at the end of the period –– ––
for the options exercised during the year to 26th january 2008 the weighted average share price on the dates that the options were exercised was 1170p
as at 26th january 2008 employees hold options to subscribe for shares in the company at prices ranging from £776 to £975
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
48 annual report and accounts 2008 26 retirement benefit plans
during the year the company operated five pension plans three of which were closed to new employees the works and the staff pension plans and the executive pension plan defined benefit
section the company created a defined contribution section within the executive pension plan which is now the vehicle for pension provision for new executive entrants the agbarr plc 2005
pension and life assurance plan is a defined contribution pension plan which was introduced by the company in 2005 to replace the staff and works pension plans the plan for works employees is 
an insured money purchase arrangement while the previous plans for executives and staff provide benefits based on final pensionable pay the fifth plan is a stakeholder pension plan arrangement
the assets of the plans are held separately from those of the company and are invested in managed funds full valuations of these plans were conducted as at 1st november 2005 using the
attained age method the total assets of the plans at valuation were £43300000 the assumptions which have the most significant effect on the results of the valuations are those relating to the
rate of return on investments and to the rates of increase in pay and pensions it was assumed that the investment return would be 22 per annum higher than the growth in pensionable pay 
in the period after retirement it was assumed that the investment return would be 04 per annum lower than the increase in pensions accruing up to november 2005 and 185 per annum
higher for pensions accruing thereafter in both the executive and staff plans the deficit as at 1st november 2005 determined using the above assumptions was £20400000
the valuation used for the two defined benefit plans has been based on market conditions as at the company year end to satisfy this the full actuarial valuation carried out at 1st november 2005
was updated to 26th january 2008 by a qualified independent actuary
defined benefit plan
the group operates a funded defined benefit plan for qualifying employees under the plan the employees are entitled to retirement benefits based on final pensionable pay no other postretirement
benefits are provided
the amounts recognised in the balance sheet are as follows
2008 2007
£000 £000
present value of funded obligations 65970 68475
fair value of plan assets 57961 52391
funded status 8009 16084
present value of unfunded obligations – –
unrecognised actuarial losses – –
unrecognised past service cost – –
net liability 8009 16084
liabilities 8009 16084
assets – –
net liability 8009 16084
total actuarial gaincost recognised in the sorie 5167 907
the amounts recognised in the income statement are as follows
2008 2007
£000 £000
current service cost 889 1335
interest on obligation 3504 3209
expected return on plans’ assets 3575 2838
total cost recognised in the income statement 818 1706
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 49 26 retirement benefit plans continued
of the total charge £889000 27th january 2007 £1335000 has been included in administration costs and £71000 credited to finance income 27th january 2007 £371000 charged in finance costs
2008 2007
£000 £000
actual return on plan assets 3641 2260
changes in the present value of the defined benefit obligation are as follows
2008 2007
£000 £000
opening defined benefit obligation 68475 64257
service cost 889 1335
interest cost 3504 3209
actuarial gainslosses 5101 329
members’ contributions 586 543
benefits paid 2383 1383
net transfers in – 185
closing defined benefit obligation 65970 68475
changes in the fair value of the plans’ assets are as follows
2008 2007
£000 £000
opening fair value of plan assets 52391 48009
expected return 3575 2838
actuarial gains and losses 66 578
contributions by employer 3726 2962
members’ contributions 586 543
benefits paid 2383 1383
closing fair value of plans’ assets 57961 52391
the plans’ assets do not include any of the group’s own financial instruments nor any property occupied by or any other asset used by the group
the cumulative actuarial gains and losses recognised directly in equity are as follows
2008 2007
£000 £000
cumulative amount at 27th january 2007 2666 1759
recognised during the period 5167 907
cumulative amount at 26th january 2008 2501 2666
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
50 annual report and accounts 2008 26 retirement benefit plans continued
the principal assumptions at the balance sheet date expressed as weighted averages
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
discount rate at year end 590 510 490 540 550
expected return on plan assets at year end 670 580 650 650 650
future salary increases 465 415 400 400 400
inflation assumption 340 290 275 275 275
the fair value of the plan assets at the balance sheet date is analysed as follows
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
equities 38834 34578 27605 20699 24413
bonds 13331 13412 13923 12680 4470
cash 5796 4401 6481 3312 2087
property – ––– 97
total market value of assets 57961 52391 48009 36691 31067
actuarial value of liability 65970 68475 64257 53735 49152
deficit in the plans 8009 16084 16248 17044 18085
related deferred tax asset 2242 4825 4874 5113 5426
net pension liability 5767 11259 11374 11931 12659
the history of the plans for the current and prior period is as follows
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
defined benefit obligation 65970 68475 64257 53735 49152
plan assets 57961 52391 48009 36691 31067
deficit 8009 16084 16248 17044 18085
experience gains and losses on plans’ liabilities 100 1674 324 231 1186
difference between actual and expected return on plans’ assets 66 578 4784 1461 4967
the group expects to pay £3700000 in contributions to defined benefit plans in the year to 31st january 2009
the pension costs for defined contributions plans are as follows
2008 2007 2006 2005
£000 £000 £000 £000
defined contribution plans 640 640 573 437
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 51 27 related party transactions
transactions between the company and it subsidiaries which are related parties of the company have been eliminated on consolidation in this note details of transactions between the company
and related parties are as follows
sales of goods purchases of goods
and services and services
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
findlays limited – – 1004 1597
barr leasing limited – – 84 85
amounts owed amounts owed
by related parties to related parties
2008 2007 2008 2007
£000 £000 £000 £000
findlays limited – – 658 216
barr leasing limited – – 169 136
the amounts outstanding are unsecured and will be settled in cash no guarantees have been given or received no expense has been recognised in the period for bad or doubtful debts in respect
of the amounts owed by related parties
compensation of key management personnel
the remuneration of directors and other members of key management during the year was as follows
2008 2007
£000 £000
salaries and shortterm benefits 2024 2156
postemployment benefits 291 284
sharebased payments 265 220
2580 2660
the group’s retirement benefit plans are administered by an independent third party service provider during the year the service provider charged the group £447487 2007 £375300 
for administration services in respect of the retirement benefit plans at the year end £nil 2007 £nil was outstanding to the service provider on behalf of the retirement benefit plans
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
52 annual report and accounts 2008 28 shareholders’ funds and statement of changes in shareholders’ equity
share own share
share premium shares options retained
capital account held reserve earnings total equity
group £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
at 28th january 2006 4865 905 4298 1416 62056 64944
own shares purchased – – 1052 – – 1052
proceeds of share option exercise – – 553 – – 553
recognition of sharebased payment costs – – – 359 – 359
transfer of reserve on share award – – 358 221 137 –
actuarial costs on defined benefit pension plans – – – – 907 907
deferred tax on items taken directly to equity – – – 369 3 366
profit for the period – – – – 13191 13191
dividends paid – – – – 6077 6077
at 27th january 2007 4865 905 4439 1923 68123 71377
own shares purchased – – 2227 – – 2227
proceeds of share option exercise – – 1421 – – 1421
recognition of sharebased payment costs – – – 385 – 385
release of shares on share award – – 308 – – 308
transfer of reserve on share award – – 1220 535 685 –
actuarial costs on defined benefit pension plans – – – – 5167 5167
current tax on items taken directly to equity – – – – 909 909
deferred tax on items taken directly to equity – – – 809 1840 2649
profit for the period – – – – 16838 16838
dividends paid – – – – 6751 6751
at 26th january 2008 4865 905 3717 964 81761 84778
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 53 28 shareholders’ funds and statement of changes in shareholders’ equity continued
share own share
share premium shares options retained
capital account held reserve earnings total equity
company £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
at 28th january 2006 4865 905 4298 1416 60380 63268
own shares purchased – – 1052 – – 1052
proceeds of share option exercise – – 553 – – 553
recognition of sharebased payment costs – – – 359 – 359
transfer of reserve on share award – – 358 221 137 –
actuarial costs on defined benefit pension plans – – – – 907 907
deferred tax on items taken directly to equity – – – 369 3 366
profit for the period – – – – 13057 13057
dividends paid – – – – 6077 6077
at 27th january 2007 4865 905 4439 1923 66313 69567
own shares purchased – – 2227 – – 2227
proceeds of share option exercise – – 1421 – – 1421
recognition of sharebased payment costs – – – 385 – 385
release of shares on share award – – 308 – – 308
transfer of reserve on share award – – 1220 535 685 –
actuarial costs on defined benefit pension plans – – – – 5167 5167
current tax on items taken directly to equity – – – – 909 909
deferred tax on items taken directly to equity – – – 809 1840 2649
profit for the period – – – – 16668 16668
dividends paid – – – – 6751 6751
at 26th january 2008 4865 905 3717 964 79781 82798
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
54 annual report and accounts 2008 28 shareholders’ funds and statement of changes in shareholders’ equity continued
at 26th january 2008 the own shares held balance represented 334705 2007 643498 shares
during the year to 26th january 2008 the company’s trusts purchased 184081 27th january 2007 98196 shares the total amount paid to acquire the shares has been deducted from
shareholders’ equity and classified as own shares held during the year 492874 shares 27th january 2007 125486 shares were released from the company’s employee share schemes
the £308000 release of shares on share award relates to the release of shares awarded under a share scheme which had a grant date before 7th november 2002 this award is not accounted 
for under ifrs through the exemption provided by ifrs 1 firsttime adoption of international financial reporting standards
29 events after the balance sheet date
a dividends
as disclosed in note 9 the directors propose that a final dividend of 2800p per share will be paid to shareholders on 6th june 2008
b business combinations
on 28th january 2008 the group acquired 100 of the share capital of taut international limited a group of companies specialising in the marketing of sports drinks the consideration
was £1 no disclosure in respect of this acquisition is included in these financial statements at the date of publication as the fair value of the assets and liabilities being acquired has yet 
to be determined the full disclosure and accounting for the acquisition will be included in the financial statements for the year ending 31st january 2009
c changes to the corporation tax system
a number of changes to the uk corporation tax system were announced as part of the march 2007 budget statement certain of these changes were substantially enacted in the 2007
finance act on 26th june 2007 the impact of these has been recognised in these financial statements certain other changes are expected to be enacted in the finance act 2008 the impact
of these changes will be recognised in the period in which the finance act 2008 is substantively enacted which is expected to be in the year to 31st january 2009 the changes to the industrial
building allowances available will result in an increase of deferred tax liabilities recognised in respect of land and buildings the increase will be recognised in the income statement
d merger of pension schemes
on 31st january 2008 the revised staff pension scheme and the executive pension scheme merged and the new scheme was named the agbarr plc 2008 pension and life assurance
scheme the decision to merge the schemes was made as both schemes were funded to a similar level based on the assumptions used to determine the scheme’s technical provisions
technical provisions are a measure used to determine the amount of money that a scheme needs to hold to meet benefits as they fall due the merger will result in lower administration costs
both schemes are closed to new members
notes to the accounts
directors’ report corporate governance directors’ remuneration report primary statements notes to the accounts
annual report and accounts 2008 55 we have audited the group and parent company financial
statements on pages 27 to 55 we have also audited the
information in the directors’ remuneration report that 
is described as having been audited
this report is made solely to the company’s members as 
a body in accordance with section 235 of the companies 
act 1985 our audit work has been undertaken so that we
might state to the company’s members those matters we 
are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for 
no other purpose to the fullest extent permitted by law we 
do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than
the company and the company’s members as a body for our
audit work for this report or for the opinions we have formed
respective responsibilities of directors and auditors
the directors’ responsibilities for preparing the annual 
report the directors’ remuneration report and the 
financial statements in accordance with applicable law 
and international financial reporting standards ifrss 
as adopted by the european union are set out in the
statement of directors’ responsibilities
our responsibility is to audit the financial statements and the
part of the directors’ remuneration report to be audited in
accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements
and international standards on auditing uk and ireland
we report to you our opinion as to whether the financial
statements give a true and fair view and whether the financial
statements and the part of the directors’ remuneration
report to be audited have been properly prepared in
accordance with the companies act 1985 and as regards 
the group financial statements article 4 of the ias regulation
we also report to you whether in our opinion the information
given in the directors’ report is consistent with the financial
statements the information given in the directors’ report
includes that specific information presented in the statements
of the chairman and the chief executive that is cross
referenced from the activities of the group section of the
directors’ report in addition we report to you if in our
opinion the company has not kept proper accounting
records if we have not received all the information and
explanations we require for our audit or if information
specified by law regarding directors’ remuneration and 
other transactions is not disclosed
we review whether the corporate governance statement
reflects the company’s compliance with the nine provisions 
of the 2003 combined code specified for our review by the
listing rules of the financial services authority and we
report if it does not we are not required to consider whether
the board’s statements on internal control cover all risks 
and controls or form an opinion on the effectiveness of 
the group’s corporate governance procedures or its risk 
and control procedures
we read other information contained in the annual report 
and consider whether it is consistent with the audited 
financial statements the other information comprises only 
the directors’ report the unaudited part of the directors’
remuneration report chairman’s statement chief executive’s
statement corporate social responsibility board of directors
and the corporate governance statement we consider the
implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent
misstatements or material inconsistencies with the financial
statements our responsibilities do not extend to any 
other information
basis of audit opinion
we conducted our audit in accordance with international
standards on auditing uk and ireland issued by the
auditing practices board an audit includes examination 
on a test basis of evidence relevant to the amounts and
disclosures in the financial statements and the part of the
directors’ remuneration report to be audited it also includes
an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements
made by the directors in the preparation of the financial
statements and of whether the accounting policies are
appropriate to the group’s and company’s circumstances
consistently applied and adequately disclosed
we planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all 
the information and explanations which we considered
necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to
give reasonable assurance that the financial statements and
the part of the directors’ remuneration report to be audited
are free from material misstatement whether caused by 
fraud or other irregularity or error in forming our opinion 
we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation 
of information in the financial statements and the part of the
directors’ remuneration report to be audited
opinion
in our opinion
• the group financial statements give a true and fair view 
in accordance with ifrss as adopted by the european
union of the state of the group’s affairs as at 26th january
2008 and of its profit for the year then ended
• the parent company financial statements give a true and fair
view in accordance with ifrss as adopted by the european
union as applied in accordance with the provisions of the
companies act 1985 of the state of the parent company’s
affairs as at 26th january 2008
• the financial statements and the part of the directors’
remuneration report to be audited have been properly
prepared in accordance with the companies act 1985 and
as regards the group financial statements article 4 of the
ias regulation and
• the information given in the directors’ report is consistent
with the financial statements
as explained in the accounting policies to the group financial
statements the group in addition to complying with its legal
obligation to comply with ifrss as adopted by the european
union has also complied with the ifrss as issued by the
international accounting standards board in our opinion 
the group financial statements give a true and fair view in
accordance with ifrss of the state of the group’s affairs as 
at 26th january 2008 and of its profit for the year then ended
baker tilly uk audit llp
registered auditor
chartered accountants
breckenridge house
274 sauchiehall street
glasgow g2 3eh
31st march 2008
independent auditor’s report
56 annual report and accounts 2008 prepared
under
prepared under ifrs ukgaap
2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000
revenue 148377 141876 128760 127222 125235
operating profit before exceptional items 20389 18334 16940 15629 13198
exceptional items 468 2761 533 – –
operating profit after exceptional items 19921 15573 16407 15629 13198
interest receivable 924 1158 1557 1288 599
interest payable 12 377 583 630 –
interest 912 781 974 658 599
profit before tax 20833 16354 17381 16287 13797
tax on profit 3995 3163 5128 4585 4085
profit after tax 16838 13191 12253 11702 9712
earnings per share on issued share capital 8652p 6778p 6296p 6013p 4990p
dividends recognised as an appropriation in the year 3575p 3225p 2925p 2625p 2550p
the earnings per share on issued share capital for each period has been calculated to reflect the shares in issue at the respective year end dates
conversion to ifrs
the main adjustments that would require to be made to restate the ukgaap figures for 2004 into ifrs are as follows
1 to treat all share options awards and share awards as prescribed by ifrs 2
2 to treat the final salary pension plans as prescribed by ias 19 with the net finance charge relating to retirement and postemployment benefit plans being included within interest payable
3 proposed dividends were recognised as an appropriation in the period to which they related to under ifrs proposed dividends at the year end date require to be disclosed but not treated 
as a liability of that year
review of trading results
annual report and accounts 2008 57 notice is hereby given that the one hundred and fourth annual general meeting of the company will be held at the offices of brechin tindall oatts 48 st vincent street glasgow g2 5hs 
on 19th may 2008 at 1100 am
agenda
ordinary business
1 to receive and adopt the audited accounts of the group for the year ended 26th january 2008 together with the reports of the directors and auditors thereon
2 to receive and approve the directors’ remuneration report for 2008
3 to declare a final dividend for 2008
4 to reelect wrg barr as a director
5 to reelect jd kemp as a director
6 to confirm the appointment of al memmott as a director
7 to confirm the reappointment of js espey as a director
8 to reappoint the auditors and to authorise the directors to fix their remuneration
special business
9 to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolution which will be proposed as a special resolution
authority to purchase own shares
that the company be and is hereby unconditionally and generally authorised for the purposes of section 166 of the companies act 1985 to make market purchases as defined in section 163 
of that act of ordinary shares of 25p each in the capital of the company provided that
i the maximum number of ordinary shares that may be purchased is 1946146
ii the minimum price which may be paid for each ordinary share is 25p
iii the maximum price which may be paid for each ordinary share is five per cent above the average of the middle market quotations taken from the stock exchange daily official list for the
ten business days before the purchase is made and
iv this authority shall expire on the conclusion of the annual general meeting of the company held in 2009 or if earlier 1st november 2009 except in relation to the purchase of ordinary shares
the contract for which was concluded before the expiry of such authority and which may be executed wholly or partly after such expiry unless such authority is renewed prior to such time
notice of meeting
58 annual report and accounts 2008 10 to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolution which will be proposed as a special resolution
that with effect from 1201 am on 1st october 2008 or such later date as section 175 of the companies act 2006 shall be brought into force article 29 of the company’s articles 
of association be deleted in its entirety and replaced by the following new article 29
29 directors’ interests and voting
paragraphs a to i of this article are subject to the provisions of the statutes and to the provisions of paragraphs j to q
a no director or proposed or intending director shall be disqualified by his office from contracting with the company either with regard to his tenure of any office or place of profit or as
vendor purchaser or in any other manner whatever nor shall any contract in which any director is in any way interested be liable to be avoided nor shall any director who is so interested 
be liable to account to the company or the members for any remuneration profit or other benefit realised by the contract by reason of the director holding that office or of the fiduciary
relationship thereby established
b a director may hold any other office or place of profit with the company except that of auditor in conjunction with his office of director for such period subject to the provisions of 
the statutes and upon such other terms as the board may decide and may be paid such extra remuneration for so doing whether by way of salary commission participation in profits 
or otherwise as the board or any committee authorised by the board may decide and either in addition to or in lieu of any remuneration provided for by or pursuant to any other article
c a director may be or become a director or other officer of or otherwise interested in any company promoted by the company or in which the company may be interested or as regards
which it has any power of appointment and shall not be liable to account to the company or the members for any remuneration profit or other benefit received by him as a director or
officer of or from his interest in the other company the board may also cause any voting power conferred by the shares in any other company held or owned by the company or any 
power of appointment to be exercised in such manner in all respects as it thinks fit including the exercise of the voting power or power of appointment in favour of the appointment 
of the directors or any of them as directors or officers of the other company or in favour of the payment of remuneration to the directors or officers of the other company
d a director may act by himself or his firm in a professional capacity otherwise than as auditor and he or his firm shall be entitled to remuneration for professional services as if he were 
not a director
e a director shall not vote on or be counted in the quorum in relation to any resolution of the board concerning his own appointment or the settlement or variation of the terms or the
termination of his own appointment as the holder of any office or place of profit with the company or any other company in which the company is interested but where proposals are
under consideration concerning the appointment or the settlement or variation of the terms or the termination of the appointment of two or more directors to offices or places of profit 
with the company or any other company in which the company is interested a separate resolution may be put in relation to each director and in that case each of the directors concerned
shall be entitled to vote and be counted in the quorum in respect of each resolution unless it concerns his own appointment or the settlement or variation of the terms or the termination 
of his own appointment or the appointment of another director to an office or place of profit with a company in which the company is interested and the director seeking to vote or be
counted in the quorum owns one per cent or more of it
f save as otherwise provided by these articles a director shall not vote on or be counted in the quorum in relation to any resolution of the board in respect of any actual or proposed
transaction or arrangement with the company in which he has an interest taken together with any interest of any person connected with him which is an interest of which he is aware 
or ought reasonably to be aware does conflict or can reasonably be regarded as likely to give rise to a conflict with the interests of the company and if he shall do so his vote shall 
not be counted but this prohibition shall not apply to any resolution where that material interest arises only from one or more of the following matters
i the giving to him of any guarantee indemnity or security in respect of money lent or obligations undertaken by him or by any other person at the request of or for the benefit of the
company or any of its subsidiary undertakings
ii the giving to a third party of any guarantee indemnity or security in respect of a debt or obligation of the company or any of its subsidiary undertakings for which he himself has
assumed responsibility in whole or in part under a guarantee or indemnity or by the giving of security
iii where the company or any of its subsidiary undertakings is offering securities in which offer the director is or may be entitled to participate as a holder of securities or in the
underwriting or subunderwriting of which the director is to participate
iv any contract in which he is interested by virtue of his interest in shares or debentures or other securities of the company or by reason of any other interest in or through the company
v any contract concerning any other company not being a company in which the director owns one per cent or more in which he is interested directly or indirectly whether as an officer
shareholder creditor or otherwise howsoever
vi any contract concerning the adoption modification or operation of a pension fund or retirement death or disability benefits scheme which relates both to directors and employees 
of the company or of any of its subsidiary undertakings and does not provide in respect of any director as such any privilege or advantage not accorded to the employees to which
the fund or scheme relates
vii any contract for the benefit of the employees of the company or of any of its subsidiary undertakings under which he benefits in a similar manner to the employees and which does 
not accord to any director as such any privilege or advantage not accorded to the employees to whom the contract relates and
viii any contract for the purchase or maintenance of insurance against any liability for or for the benefit of any director or directors or for or for the benefit of persons who include directors
notice of meeting
annual report and accounts 2008 59 g a company shall be deemed to be “one in which a director owns one per cent or more” if and for so long as but only if and for so long as he taken together with any person connected
with him is to his knowledge either directly or indirectly the holder of or beneficially interested in one per cent or more of any class of the equity share capital of that company or of 
the voting rights available to members of that company for the purpose of this paragraph of this article 29 there shall be disregarded any shares held by the director or any such person 
as bare trustee or custodian and in which he has no beneficial interest any shares comprised in a trust in which his or any such person’s interest is in reversion or remainder if and so 
long as some other person is entitled to receive the income of the trust and any shares comprised in an authorised unit trust scheme in which he or any such person is interested only
as a unit holder
h where a company in which a director owns one per cent or more is interested in a contract he also shall be deemed interested in that contract
i if any question shall arise at any meeting of the board as to whether the interest of a director gives rise to a conflict or could reasonably be regarded as likely to give rise to a conflict with
the interests of the company or as to the entitlement of any director to vote or be counted in the quorum and the question is not resolved by his voluntarily agreeing to abstain from voting 
or not to be counted in the quorum the question shall be decided by a resolution of the board for which purpose the director in question shall not be counted in the quorum and provided
that the resolution was agreed to without the director in question voting or would have been agreed if their votes had not been counted and the resolution shall be conclusive except 
in a case where the nature or extent of the interest of the director so far as it is known to him has not been fairly disclosed to the board
j a director who is in any way whether directly or indirectly interested in an actual or proposed transaction or arrangement with the company shall declare the nature and extent of his
interest at the meeting of the board at which the question of entering into the contract is first taken into consideration if he knows his interest then exists or in any other case at the first
meeting of the board after he knows that he is or has become so interested for the purposes of this article a general notice to the board by a director to the effect that a he is a member
of a specified company or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any contract which may after the date of the notice be made with that company or firm or b he is to be regarded as
interested in any contract which may after the date of the notice be made with a specified person who is connected with him shall be deemed to be a sufficient declaration of interest under
this article in relation to any such contract provided that no such notice shall be effective unless either it is given at a meeting of the board or the director takes reasonable steps to secure
that it is brought up and read at the next board meeting after it is given
k references in this article to a contract include references to any proposed contract and to any transaction or arrangement whether or not constituting a contract
l in respect of any situation in which a director has or can have a direct or indirect interest that conflicts or possibly may conflict with the interests of the company the board may authorise
the matter on such terms as they may determine provided that
i the director has declared the full nature and extent of the situation to the board and
ii it is proposed either by the director in question or another that the board authorise the matter and upon the resolution to do so the requirement for the quorum is met without counting
the director in question and the resolution was agreed to without such director voting or would have been agreed to if that conflicted director’s vote had not been counted
m any terms determined by the board under paragraph l of this article may be imposed at the time of authorisation or may be imposed subsequently and may include without limitation
i the exclusion of the interested director in question from all information and discussion by the company of the situation in question and
ii without prejudice to the general obligations of confidentiality the application to the interested director of a strict duty of confidentiality to the company for any confidential information
of the company in relation to the situation in question
n an interested director under this article 29 must act in accordance with any terms determined by the board pursuant to paragraphs l or m of this article
o any authorisation given by the board under paragraph l of this article may provide that where the interested director obtains other than through his position as a director of the company
information that is confidential to a third party he will not be obliged to disclose it to the company or to use it in relation to the company’s affairs in circumstances where to do so would
amount to a breach of that confidence
p subject to the provisions of the statutes the company may by ordinary resolution suspend or relax the provisions of this article to any extent or ratify any contract not properly authorised
by reason of a contravention of this article
q for the purposes of this article an interest of a person who is for the purpose of the statutes connected with a director shall be treated as an interest of the director and in relation 
to an alternate director an interest of his appointer shall be treated as an interest of the alternate director
11 to transact any other competent business
by order of the board
ja barr
secretary
18th april 2008
notice of meeting
60 annual report and accounts 2008 notice of meeting
annual report and accounts 2008 61
notes
1 a member entitled to attend and vote at the above meeting may appoint one or more persons as hisher proxy to attend speak and vote instead of himher at the meeting if multiple proxies
are appointed they must not be appointed in respect of the same shares a proxy need not be a member of the company a form of proxy is enclosed with this notice completion and return 
of the form of proxy will not prevent a member from attending the meeting and voting in person if heshe so wishes a member present in person or by proxy shall have one vote on a show 
of hands and on a poll every member present in person or by proxy shall have one vote for every ordinary share of which heshe is the holder
2 in order to be valid forms of proxy for the meeting and the power of attorney or other authority if any under which it is executed or a notarially certified copy of such power or authority 
must be received not later than 48 hours before the time fixed for the meeting at the office of the company’s registrars equiniti limited aspect house spencer road lancing bn99 6zr
3 as at 17th april 2008 being the last business day prior to the publication of this notice the company’s issued share capital amounted to 19461463 ordinary shares carrying one vote each
therefore the total voting rights in the company as at 17th april 2008 were 19461463 votes
4 pursuant to regulation 41 of the uncertificated securities regulations 2001 the company specifies that only those shareholders registered in the register of members of the company as at
1100 am on 17th may 2008 or in the event that the meeting is adjourned only those shareholders registered in the register of members of the company as at 1100 am on the day which
is two days prior to the adjourned meeting shall be entitled to attend or vote at the above meeting in respect of the number of shares registered in their name at that time changes to entries 
on the relevant register of securities after that time shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend or vote at the meeting
5 a person to whom this notice is sent who is a person nominated under section 146 of the companies act 2006 to enjoy information rights a “nominated person” may under an agreement
between himher and the member by whom heshe was nominated have a right to be appointed or to have someone else appointed as a proxy for the meeting if a nominated person has 
no such proxy appointment right or does not wish to exercise it heshe may under any such agreement have a right to give instructions to the member as to the exercise of voting rights 
the statement of the rights of members in relation to the appointment of proxies in note 1 above does not apply to a nominated person the rights described in that note can only be exercised
by registered members of the company
6 there are no contracts of service under which directors of the company are employed by the company or any of its subsidiaries other than contracts expiring or determinable by the employing
company within one year for executive directors except within a period of six months following either a takeover of or by or a reconstruction of the company during which time the notice period
reverts in certain circumstances to two years the chairman’s contract allows for a notice period of one year for nonexecutive directors contracts expire or are determinable within three years
7 the directors’ service contracts and the letters of appointment of the nonexecutive directors will be available for inspection during normal business hours on any weekday saturdays sundays
and public holidays excepted from the date of this notice until the close of the annual general meeting at the registered office of the company and on the date of the annual general meeting 
at the offices of brechin tindall oatts 48 st vincent street glasgow g2 5hs from 1045 am on 19th may 2008 until the conclusion of the meeting
8 resolution 9 – purchase of shares the directors are committed to managing the company’s capital effectively and consider that the purchase by the company of its ordinary shares may 
in certain circumstances be advantageous to shareholders they believe that in common with many other listed companies the company should obtain from shareholders a general authority 
to make market purchases on the london stock exchange the authority should be on the basis that in accordance with the company’s articles of association the maximum price for ordinary
shares purchased in the market shall not exceed five per cent above the average of the middle market quotations taken from the stock exchange daily official list for the ten business days
before the purchase is made the minimum price per ordinary share shall not be less than 25p being the par value of an ordinary share the number of ordinary shares which may be acquired
pursuant to the authority is up to an aggregate of 1946146 ordinary shares this being approximately 100 per cent of the issued ordinary share capital of the company the company will only
purchase ordinary shares if the directors believe that it is in the shareholders’ best interests and will increase earnings per share although the directors have no plans to use the authority 
at present this position will be kept under review
9 resolution 10 – amendment of articles of association
the company’s articles of association contain provisions in relation to directors’ conflicts of interest it is intended that with effect from 1st october 2008 those provisions will be amended 
to reflect new provisions of the companies act 2006 the “2006 act” in relation to directors’ conflicts of interests which are expected to come into force on that date the new provisions 
are contained in resolution 10 set out in the notice of the annual general meeting
the 2006 act sets out directors’ general duties which largely codify the existing law but with some changes under the 2006 act from 1st october 2008 a director must avoid a situation where
heshe has or can have a direct or indirect interest that conflicts or may conflict with the company’s interests the requirement is very broad and could apply for example if a director is or
becomes a director of another company or a trustee of another organisation the 2006 act allows directors of public companies to authorise conflicts and potential conflicts where appropriate
insofar as the articles of association contain a provision to this effect the 2006 act also allows articles to contain other provisions for dealing with directors’ conflicts of interest to avoid 
a breach of duty 
there are safeguards which will apply when directors decide whether to authorise a conflict or potential conflict firstly only directors who have no interest in the matter being considered will 
be able to take the relevant decision and secondly in taking the decision the directors must act in a way they consider in good faith will be most likely to promote the company’s success
the directors will be able to impose limits or conditions when giving authorisation if they think this is appropriate
it is also proposed that the articles of association should contain provisions relating to confidential information attendance at board meetings and the availability of board papers to protect 
a director being in breach of duty if a conflict of interest or a potential conflict of interest arises notes
62 annual report and accounts 2008  


Summary:
 annual report and accounts 2008 01
2008
2007 608
675
revenue £m
2008
2007 14188
14838
operating profit before exceptional items £m
2008
2007 1833
2039
free cash flow £m
dividends paid £m
2008
2007 1232
120
key performance indicators uk operations
10
11
01
10
09
08
07
03
02
06
04
05
head office
01 cumbernauld
regional office
05 middlebrook
sales branch
04 newcastle
06 moston
07 sheffield
09 wednesbury
10 walthamstow
distribution depot
01 cumbernauld
factory
01 cumbernauld 
02 forfar
03 pitcox 
08 mansfield
  02 annual report and accounts 2008
review of results
profit before taxation for the year to january
2008 was – excluding exceptional items –
£213m compared with £191m for the
previous year this increase of 114
represents an excellent overall performance 
in a year of dismal summer weather and also
reflects the improvement in operating costs
resulting from the infrastructure changes
completed during the year
the exceptional items produced a net charge
of £05m this was a substantial reduction
from the charge of £28m incurred last year
and represented the final costs of our recent
restructuring process
turnover for the year to january 2008 was
£1484m – an increase of 46 over the
previous year adjusting for the turnover 
of the strathmore water business which 
was acquired in june 2006 the likeforlike
increase was 27
the tax charge for the current year is again
very low at 19 of the profit on ordinary
activities compared with the corporation 
tax rate of 30 applicable to the year the
difference is substantially due to a reduction
of £13m in the company’s tax charge for this
year related to the disposal of properties at
the conclusion of our restructuring process
basic earnings per share have risen from
6965p to 8675p and your directors are
pleased to recommend a final dividend 
of 2800p per share to give a total dividend 
for the year to january 2008 of 3900p – an
increase of 114 it is worth noting that over
the last six years we have been able to raise
the total dividend for the year from 2160p 
to 3900p – an overall increase of 806
people
on behalf of our external shareholders 
i would again like to take this opportunity 
to thank all our employees for their efforts
during this year the excellent results achieved
are particularly creditable given both the
distraction of completing the infrastructure
changes and the exceptionally poor summer
weather experienced this year in comparison
with 2006
board
we announced in january that the current
year would see the retiral of two long serving
executive directors
alan bibby operations director retired 
on 29th february he joined the company 
in 1977 and was appointed to the board 
in 1985 iain greenock who will retire at the 
end of june joined the company in 1975 
and was appointed finance director in 1998
throughout these long periods of service
both alan and iain have consistently given 
a level of application and professionalism
which has contributed substantially to the
company’s success over that time and 
i would like to thank them on behalf of 
all our shareholders and wish them both
well in their retirement
after the conclusion of an exhaustive
recruitment process i am pleased to 
confirm that we have been able to appoint
two capable and experienced candidates 
to the vacant positions andrew memmott 
who joined the company in 1990 and was
most recently head of manufacturing was
appointed operations director on 1st march
we also anticipate the appointment on 
1st july of alex short as finance director
alex is currently group finance director of
william grant  sons ltd a major company 
in the alcoholic drinks industry i look forward
to the contributions that these two new
board members will make to the company
prospects
competition within the soft drinks industry
remains intense and is now spread over 
the much wider range of products which
today’s consumer demands to meet this
change we have continued to widen our own
portfolio into those categories which offer
prospects of profitable growth while at the
same time we remain aware that traditional
carbonates will for the future remain the
largest soft drinks category we are confident
that the strength of our core brands in that
category will enable us to successfully
develop the widening portfolio with which 
we are now engaged
robin barr chairman
“over the last six years we have
been able to raise the total dividend
for the year from 2160p to 3900p –
an overall increase of 806 ” 
chairman’s
statement
irnbru
irnbru stole the show at the scottish advertising
awards 2007 in glasgow it was the 21st year of the
awards ceremony and irnbru was awarded the
best brand the best slogan for ‘made in scotland
from girders’  best radio commercial best poster
and best advertising campaign in the last 21 years
the phenomenal evening was completed by irnbru’s
snowman advert winning the grand prix award this 
is an award given to the best overall advert of the year
robin barr chairman annual report and accounts 2008 03
“over the course of the last 
financial year our business 
has delivered a strong 
overall performance ”
chief executive’s
statement
basic earnings per share p
2008
2007
2006 6506
6965
8675
dividends for financial year p
2008
2007
2006 3175
3500
3900
roger white chief executive
financial performance
over the course of the last financial year 
our business has delivered a strong overall
performance we have continued to execute
our value based growth strategy and despite
the extremely poor summer weather and 
its consequential impact on the soft drinks
market we have delivered growth in sales
revenue operating margin and profit at 
the same time as we further invested in our
brands and assets the pace of operational
change has continued to be challenging but
we remain confident in our ability to deliver
improved financial performance even in times
of significant change
although the poor summer weather impacted
the soft drinks market we continued to make
good financial progress with pretax profit
before exceptionals increasing by 114 from
£191m to £213m this strong performance
was underpinned by improvements in
operating margins reflecting the impact of the
benefits in our scottish supply chain project
beginning to flow through
total sales grew by 46 from £1419m to
£1484m in the period 27 on a likeforlike
basis adjusting for the strathmore water
business acquired in june 2006 highlighting
the resilient nature of our brands which 
have collectively grown market share across
the year 
although we continued to manage our
business primarily focusing on value not
volume we did as previously indicated
marginally increase our promotional weight 
in the multiple retailers sector across the
summer period this initiative in tandem
with our ongoing development of the impulse
market and a strong control over costs
ensured that we successfully delivered our
business targets across the summer period
despite the challenging market conditions
operating profit before exceptionals increased
by 112 and the operating margin improved
in line with our expectations from 129 to
137 further improvement to operating
margin is expected from our restructuring
programme although increased marketing
support costs are planned as we further
develop our brand portfolio for the longterm
capital spend in the period was £125m 
and although lower than the prior year it was
higher than longterm average levels as we
completed our major restructuring projects
during the second half of the year we
completed the clearance of and exit from 
our atherton site this location is now 
surplus to our operating requirements and 
a marketing process has now commenced
despite our high level of capital spend 
we were able as a consequence of our
continued focus on cash management to 
exit the year with £17 9m of cash in the bank
tizer
tizer’s distinctive poster and magazine advertising
campaign supported the introduction of the brand’s
new more natural formulation containing 10 real
fruit juice with no artificial flavourings no artificial
sweeteners and no artificial colours and helped the
brand to achieve a 15 increase in sales during 
the relaunch period 04 annual report and accounts 2008
we acquired the vitsmart and vitaminsmart
brands from chartered brands in december
2007 for a potential total consideration 
of £350000 this acquisition will give us a 
head start in the enhanced waters category
with an existing product range and revenue
streams to quickly build on the total sales 
of vitsmartvitaminsmart in 2007 were
approximately £1m at retail sales value
we also announced the acquisition of the
taut sports drinks business in late january
2008 the business was acquired for 
a nominal sum of £1 and had operating 
losses of c£13m in 2006 this acquisition
also gives us a strong point of entry into 
the sports drinks category with a brand that
has already had a significant marketing and
promotion spend behind it and importantly 
a credible position with both consumers and
the trade in this key growth category the taut
business will be rapidly consolidated into our
operating structure and we expect that the
operating losses will be stemmed during 
the early part of 200809 it is consequently
anticipated that taut will not have a material
impact on the operating performance of the
business in 200809 financial year
the market
over the course of the 200708 financial 
year the total soft drinks market grew in
value by 3 however its volume dropped 
by 2 source nielsen scantrack 12 months
to 26th january 2008 this performance
reflects the difficult yearonyear comparison
in the summer months which contrasted the
uk’s hottest summer in 2006 with its wettest
in 2007 this poor summer position was
particularly evident in those subcategories
which had done best in the summer of 2006
– namely water dilutables and fruit juice
carbonates in comparison performed
relatively better this was partly due to 
less difficult comparators but further confirms
our view that good quality well supported
carbonate brands can continue to offer good
growth prospects in the twelve month period
carbonates were up 4 in value and slightly
down in volume within the carbonates
sector the decline of a number of historically
poorer performing nondifferentiated fruit
carbonate brands continued
regardless of weather the two sub categories
which have consistently performed strongly
over the last two years are sports and energy
in both still and carbonated format with
growth in the last twelve months in excess 
of 20 in volume and value these sub
categories continue to form much of the
engine for growth in the category as a whole
with this in mind it is even more important 
to develop our portfolio into these key areas
of potential for future growth
during the last twelve months our pence 
per litre ppl as measured by nielsen has
continued to improve increasing by 2 on
core barr brands this growth is marginally
lower than the prior twelve months reflecting
our stated plan of increasing promotional
weight in multiples as well as the highly
competitive nature of the market during 
the difficult summer period we anticipate 
a return to our historic level of promotional
weight in 200809 and consequently 
expect our own ppl to rise at or possibly 
in advance of industry average levels
“we anticipate a return to our historic
level of promotional weight in 200809
and consequently expect our own ppl
to rise at or possibly in advance
of industry average levels ” in july 2007 at hampden park the home of scottish
football irnbru announced its £3m three year
sponsorship deal with the scottish football league 
the sponsorship represents a major contribution to 
the football landscape of scotland its clubs and its
communities roger white commented ‘the passion 
and commitment shown in scotland towards football 
is inspiring and a great fit for irnbru’ 
“what a 
great result”
  irnbru activity
• new irnbru packaging is launched
• irnbru ‘feel phenomenal’ campaign is launched
which consists of a new tv advert shot on the irnbru
revolution ride at blackpool pleasure beach four goths
are featured in the advert which is a ‘homage’ to the
jim’ll fixit cub scouts story from the 1970’s
• irnbru announces a new 3 year £3m sponsorship
deal with the scottish football league to sponsor sfl
leagues 1 2 and 3 which become the irnbru scottish
football league 1 2 and 3 annual report and accounts 2008 05 06 annual report and accounts 2008
strategy
our core strategic focus remains 
unchanged and we continue to develop 
our strategy around
• core brands and markets
• portfolio development
• route to market
• partnerships
• efficient operations
in addition the ongoing development 
of our people underpins each of these 
areas of strategic focus
much of our time and effort in the last 
twelve months has been spent in pursuit 
of our goal of building a sustainable future
growth platform for the business
we have therefore allocated increased
resources towards the areas of core brands
and markets portfolio development and
partnerships all of which are central to
meeting our future growth aspirations
core brands and markets
the barr brands portfolio performed well in
both market share and absolute sales terms
across the year although the poor summer
weather had a negative impact on the total
soft drinks market our market share was at 
its strongest in the difficult summer months
demonstrating the underlying brand strength
and consumer demand for our core brands
the continued focus on product quality 
and consumer preference in particular 
their taste preferences on a regional basis
has paid further dividends in improved 
sales performance across our range and
throughout the uk
irnbru and diet irnbru both 
continued to show good yearonyear 
growth increasing sales revenue by over 
3 considerable market share gains were
also made especially in england and wales
where the irnbru brand grew market 
share by 10 in the period this market
share performance contrasts starkly with
competing other flavoured carbonate brands 
– fanta and tango – both of which lost
significant volume and share over the year
the irnbru brand is now in value share
terms bigger than the combined size of the
lilt sprite and tango brands after a huge
initial sales performance irnbru 32 has
settled into a stable rate of sale which reflects
its position in the portfolio as a longterm
product focused on energy drink consumers
specifically in the scottish market
in an exciting year for the brand irnbru
became the main sponsor of the scottish
football league cementing its position as 
a prominent supporter of grass roots sports
throughout scotland with a combination of
centrally controlled football initiatives balanced
with local club support and activities this three
year deal gives the irnbru brand a great
platform for communication in tandem with
the continued increase in overall marketing
investment behind the irnbru brand the
packaging was further updated with the classic
irnbru bottle design now represented
across the whole impulse portfolio and a
higher level of focus behind the 250ml small
bottle range the irnbru brand is in good
health with the potential to deliver further
exciting developments across 200809 the st clement’s range has been developed to fit 
in with the new schools guidelines – and sales are 
very healthy in this sector
“this’ll keep
my mum
happy and it
tastes great” 60
100
pure juice in simply pure
100
juice in simply juicy
juice in st clement’s pure juice
st clement’s activity
• st clement’s offers a range of fruit based drinks 
pure juices and smoothies that really deliver on taste 
• 21 growth in the st clement’s brand following the
launch of new st clement’s juices and smoothies 
in september 2007 annual report and accounts 2008 07