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New era for the drinks trade's 50 year man

Jim O’Neill slips into the conversation the fact that he’s celebrating an amazing 50 years in the drinks business in 2006…..a remarkable career which has taken him from junior barman in Belfast to Managing Director of a drinks group successfully sold six months ago to a new UK parent.

The Managing Director of United Wine Merchants is a well-respected figure in the local drinks trade. He's a man who is well used to fighting against the dominant big guns of the business….having established, run and built up United Wine in the face of multinational competition and all that it entails.

These days, though, he has a very different role. Six months ago, he announced the sale of his beloved UWM to GB-based Waverley TBS, a leading UK drinks wholesaler, itself a subsidiary of Scottish & Newcastle Plc, and a company headed up by an old friend of O'Neill's….Jean-Francois (Jeff) Jamet, the former MD of Guinness in Northern Ireland.

"It took a couple of years from when Jeff and I first talked about the idea over lunch at Bibendum in London to the deal being concluded," says O'Neill, who happily admits to being bound by the proverbial 'golden handcuffs' to another 18 months or so at the company which he used to own.

"There's no point in denying that I've been given a very generous deal by Waverley TBS, and I'm starting to enjoy the role now," he says. Mind you, it wasn't always thus.

"I was devastated when the deal first went through. It suddenly struck me that the company wasn't mine any more, and I found it all very strange. To be honest, I was depressed," he adds candidly.

"An old friend told me at the time that any time I felt down, I should take a look at the bank balance…..and that helped a lot!" he laughs.

The amount paid by Waverley TBS for United Wine Merchants hasn't been disclosed, but it's fair to speculate that the GB company was prepared to pay well for a foothold in the Irish marketplace.

"Waverley's buying power has already made a big difference to what we're able to do, and we can start to see the future taking shape. It's all a matter of scale. While we have a couple of thousand customers, they've got 33,000 on their books and £500 million worth of buying power.

"They also have a strong focus on the on trade which we didn't have up to now. That will take United Wine increasingly into pubs, clubs and restaurants….and that's very exciting.

"And we will be growing and expanding our presence in the Republic, which is a big potential marketplace for the new-look company."

Now that the dust has settled, and the initial depression consigned to the past, Jim O'Neill says he is delighted with the deal and how it has worked out. He's particularly pleased to be dealing with a man he clearly respects a lot.

"Jeff is an amazing guy," he says. "He's got so many contacts in this industry, he puts in the hours and he really can make things happen. It's an experience to work with him."

Waverley TBS hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons before Christmas when its Hemel Hempstead distribution depot was completely devastated by the catastrophic fire at the Buncefield fuel depot next door.

Some £11 million worth of stock and 20 delivery lorries were wiped out by the inferno just a couple of weeks before Christmas….the busiest time of the year for any drinks company.

Jamet himself is based in Bristol but is a regular visitor to Northern Ireland, where he retains a North Down home.

Jim O'Neill says that staff morale at UWM's Craigavon base could hardly be better. "I think everyone is looking forward to the future with new confidence. They can see that Waverley offers us all sorts of strengths which we couldn't have in the past."

"There's no doubt that a whole new dimension has been added."

As for O'Neill himself, he intends to enjoy seeing United Wine Merchants move into its new era, and he's also going to be busy looking after the Stewarts Wine Barrel retail chain.

O'Neill bought the eight retail outlets from its previous owners shortly after the Tesco takeover of Stewarts Supermarkets….and retained the well-known Stewarts brand name.

What's more, he's also enjoying some early forays into the property investment marketplace.

"When you've been around business for 50 years, it's well nigh impossible to close the office doors behind you one days and head for the golf course….tempting as it might be sometimes!"

"The archaic law which gives Members of Parliament the freedom to say just about anything in the House of Commons and not face up to the consequences of their words has to be of dubious value. "

(March 2006)

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