Magners cider maker set to snub Dublin market

The owner of Magners Irish Cider and Tennent's Lager is looking at moving its mainlisting from Dublin to London, as the Emerald Isle's financial status faces a fresh threat.

C&C Group's chief executive, Stephen Glancey, is understood to have sounded out leading investors about the plan, which would make the €790m-turnover group the third major Irish company to switch operations to the Square Mile since December.

One shareholder said: "This is really reflecting the view that Ireland is now a secondary shell. London would bring more liquidity with more investors and a broader audience."

The building materials giant CRH and the convenience food group Greencore, which, like C&C, were part of Dublin's benchmark ISEQ20 index, have already switched. C&C has a secondary listing in London, but about 70 per cent of its shares are traded in Ireland.

CRH, a FTSE 100 constituent, is by far the biggest company to defect, but C&C is the most glamorous name of the trio due to the ubiquity of its products, which also include the Blackthorn and Gaymers ciders.