Brits buy Britvic drinksover Christmas

Pepsi looks to have won the cola wars over Christmas, according to its UK licensee Britvic, whose sales of fizzy drinks grew by 5.8 per cent throughout England, Scotland and Wales in the final quarter of 2011.

The company said the growth was "led by Pepsi" which grew its market share of the take-home cola market.

Britvic declined to say if it had gained market share at the expense of its rival Coca-Cola or had taken sales from lesser-known brands.

The company went in for heavy promotion and special pricing deals in the run up to Christmas, with analysts saying it gained as much as 2 per cent extra market share.

Sales were also boosted by the autumn launch of its handy can – a 250ml stubby can which Britvic says has proved popular as it fits more easily into pockets and handbags.

Paul Moody, the chief executive, said: "Our Great Britain, French and international business units have again delivered positive revenue growth and we continue to compete strongly and effectively in each of our markets. We expect the general economic and trading environments to remain challenging but, despite this caution, we are confident in our ability to deliver another solid set of results for the year ahead."