Britvic says sugar tax is getting Brits drinking healthily as it reveals sales jump

​The new sugar tax has “accelerated” demand for healthier drinks, the boss of Robinsons squash maker Britvic said on Wednesday as he revealed higher sales.

Simon Litherland said there has been a bias towards no and low-sugar drinks for some time, but that has increased since a levy came into effect last month.

He added that Britvic was well placed to cope with the tax: 94% of its owned brands are exempt, and it will pass on costs from affected products to customers.

Litherland was commenting as FTSE 250 manufacturer Britvic reported a 4.5% revenue rise to £733.2 million for the half year to April 15. The company behind J20 sold 1.2 billion litres of soft drinks in the period, up 3.6%.

Pre-tax profits fell to £41.8 million from £50.1 million because of costs linked to UK investment and the closure of its factory in Norwich.

Mirabaud analyst Jonathan Fyfe said that the results came in “well ahead of market expectations”.

Investors welcomed the update and the shares today advanced 45.5p to 804p.