Pernod Ricard CEO Alexandre Ricard said the company will wait to see how cannabis legalisation effects the sales of premium spirits before investing in the emerging industry.

Pernod Ricard sales for FY18 totalled €8,987m, down -0.3% on FY17 while organic sales growth accelerated to +6.0% from +3.6% last year.

Chase Distillery has formed a partnership with Jebsen Fine Wines in Hong Kong to manage the distribution of its portfolio of vodka and gin.

The Zamora Company and Old Nassau Imports have formed a new sales and marketing organization, Zamora Company USA, LLC.

Bar Convent Berlin is set to launch a new trade show in Brazil in 2019 which will be run by trade show organiser Reed Exhibitions Alcantara Machado and Reed Exhibitions Deutschland.

Diageo has reported net sales of more than £12bn and increased operating profit in its preliminary results for the year ending 30 June 2018.

Zamora has announced that it and its US importer, W. Deutsch Family Wines, have mutually agreed to terminate its arrangement for Licor 43, effective September 1.

Irish Distillers has won a trademark case with a British brewery over the name of its lager beer called Mideltone, created by Bucks Star Brewery.

Distell Group has appointed Camus Cognac subsidiary Yuanliu International Trade Co as distributor for three of its Scotch whisky bands in China.

Diageo has said it would be "premature to speculate" over rumours it is looking to relocate its global headquarters from Park Royal to a more central, west London location.

The Zamora Company has recorded a €169m turnover for 2017, the highest in the company’s history.

Zamora Company has purchased a majority stake in Chinese wine and spirits distributor Tintafina.

British pub company JD Wetherspoon is to offer more drinks from UK and non-EU producers and brewers across its 880 pubs from July 9 ahead of Brexit.

Glencairn, the Glasgow-based crystal company which sponsors the International Spirits Challenge and Drinks Inrternational’s Travel Retail Awards, claims to have broken new ground with unprecedented growth globally year-on-year.

Data and analytics company Globaldata, says there is a big opportunity for mid-range western brands to penetrate China’s giant baijiu market.

The Estonia-based Liviko Group is to represent the Rémy Cointreau group in the Baltic States.

Spanish wine and spirits business, Zamora Company has positioned itself amongst “niche” categories to achieve sustainable growth.

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) is hosting a ‘Brexit debate’ at this year’s London Wine Fair.

Halewood Wines & Spirits and Tsingtao Brewery have agreed mutually not to renew their longstanding distribution agreement.

Beam Suntory has acquired the remaining 50% shareholding of its South African distributor, ABV Brands, from the company founders, Ross Calow, Daniel Hawkins and Igor Boyadjian.

Tickets have been released for the seventh annual Distillers’ City Debate on Thursday 3 May 2018 in London.

AB InBev subsidiary company, ZX Ventures has purchased Atom Group for an undisclosed fee.

William Grant & Sons has appointed Doug Bagley as managing director for Asia Pacific, effective 14 May 2018.

An agreement has been made between 80% shareholder, the CHAMP III Funds (CHAMP) and 20% shareholder, Constellation Brands, Inc. (Constellation) to sell 100% of Accolade Wines to The Carlyle Group for A$1 billion.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has completed the 50:50 merger of the AB InBev and Anadolu Efes Russia and Ukraine businesses.

A senior management change at Toorank has led to the decision to retire the ‘Dutch Spirits’ brand and bring the whole group back under the Toorank umbrella.

Fever-Tree co-founder Charles Rolls has sold 2.6% of his shares in the company for £82.5m, leaving an 8.6% stake under his name.

Scottish brewing company, BrewDog has taken full ownership of the entire Draft House estate of 14 bars across London and south east England.

In the same week that the secretary of state signed a joint statement on trade collaboration, some of the WSTA team led a group of English wine and British gin producers on a trade mission, which - for the first time - was jointly funded by the UK government.

Drinks manufacturer and distributor Global Brands has reported a +16% increase in sales, taking turnover to £42m for its financial year ending 30 September 2017.

As reported in the February issue of Drinks International, Henkell the German sparkling wine company, has finalised the deal to buy 50.67% of Freixenet SA’s shares.

Diageo has announced the acquisition of Belsazar GmbH, a premium aperitif from Germany’s Black Forest for an undisclosed fee.

Macedonian Thrace Brewery (MTB) has welcomed the success in its long-running legal battle with Heineken and its 98.8%-owned Greek operating subsidiary, Athenian Brewery (AB), for anti-competitive market abuses in Greece.

Coca-Cola’s plans to release an alcoholic beverage in Japan in 2018 is a survival strategy according to big data experts.

Maxxium UK has announced that it is to change its name to Edrington-Beam Suntory UK Distribution Limited, from April 1.

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s annual conference has been recognised by the European Association Awards ceremony in Belgium.

William Grant & Sons has appointed Enda O’Sullivan as managing director to Latin America, overseeing the hoped for growth of the company’s brand portfolio. 

Tales of the Cocktail is now under new ownership bringing to an end a controversial period for the New Orleans festival.

Sales of Jameson Irish whiskey have increased 12% in the first half of the 2018 financial year to become Pernod Ricard’s joint largest whiskey brand in terms of volume.

The drinks industry’s first global intelligence network, Drinktank, has been set up to change the way brands work with the on-trade.

Diageo has paired up with consumer insights company Join the Dots to further understand the consumption trends in Africa.

Bacardi Limited, the world’s largest privately held spirits company, has announced the internal promotion of Vijay S. Subramaniam to managing director - Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa (AMEA).

Pernod Ricard has renewed its partnership with the Erasmus Students Network on raising awareness of responsible drinking for students within Europe.

Diageo, the world’s largest premium spirits company, has announced its interim results for six months ended December 31, 2017.

The Wine and Spirit Trade Association has been shortlisted for two European Association Awards, which will take place on February 23 in Brussels.

Tesco has renewed its role as gold level corporate patron of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET).

Business speakers at the International Bulk Wine and Spirits Show will cover private lable strategies and maximising profits over two days in London this February.

While UK Millennials are drinking less than their parents, they remain a significant market for alcohol producers, according to GlobalData.

De Kuyper Royal Distillers has announced that it is to cooperate with Beam Suntory in marketing its brands in the Netherlands.

Miles Beale, chief executive of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association has praised the decision made by chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond to freeze UK wine and spirits duty.