Brendan McGuinness will retire as managing director of C&C's cider division next May after 37 years with the business. Ciarán Hancock, Business Affairs Correspondent, reports.

Mr McGuinness (63), joined C&C in 1971 as marketing manager and was appointed to his current role in 1976.

Mr McGuinness was due to retire in 2004, the year C&C floated, but agreed an incentive package to remain with the company until February 2008.

C&C has had a difficult year, issuing two profit warnings during the summer as sales of Magners cider in the UK (known in the Republic as Bulmers) failed to live up to expectations, in part due to a wet summer.

Its share price fell yesterday by 7.9 per cent to €4.52 in Dublin, having traded as high as €13.90 on January 2nd this year.

Its market value has declined by €3 billion to €1.5 billion over the same 10-month period.

Mr McGuinness will lead a reorganisation of the company which is expected to result in a number of redundancies among its 600 staff in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

Details of that restructuring are due to be announced later this month.

"Over the next six months I will lead the implementation of change necessitated by the current trading and competitive environment to ensure that we enter the next financial year with the appropriate organisation structure in place to deliver long-term growth."

C&C is expected to announce Mr McGuinness's successor later this month.