Last Friday afternoon it was trading at 6.70.

Shareholders can thank the roll-out of Magners cider in Britain for being the catalyst for much of the most recent rise in the share price.

And with the drinks business going so well, it's still easy to wonder whether the company will eventually offload products such as Tayto and concentrate its efforts solely on its drinks portfolio.

Even its Tullamore Dew brand, once owned by Irish Distillers, is performing very well. The beer-loving Czechs love it, apparently. Last week the Czech Republic and Slovakia distributor said it sold 270,000 litres of Tullamore Dew (equivalent to almost 43,000 nine-bottle cases) in the Czech Republic last year, representing 27% year-onyear growth. The country is now apparently the fastestgrowing market in the world for Tullamore Dew.

But the whiskey is, well, small beer compared to Magners, which C&C has long earmarked as a growth brand. It is throwing money at marketing the drink in the UK, where sales have been better than expected as the cider is rolled out across pubs. Competitors are now following suit in revamping their cider drinks, moving away from the laddish image once created by comedians such as Johnny Vaughan.

"I find Strongbow the ultimate drink, and with 5.6% alcohol, 20 cans of that and you will have to carry me home, " he once said on Channel 4. That image of Scottish & Newcastle's cider is now a million miles away from the brand that C&C has carefully cultivated, first at home with Bulmers and now across the water with Magners.

Last week private equity group BC Partners sold a 5% stake, worth roughly 100m, in C&C. The price it gained for the placing indicated a latent strong demand for C&C stock.

Merrion Stockbrokers, which handled the placing for BC Partners, issued research on Thursday saying it is confident of the possibility of forecast upgrades later this year.

Analyst Robert Brisbourne said the roll-out of Magners across Britain shows strong momentum. He added that C&C's existing guidance is based on a doubling of Magners' market share, and estimates that the drink is already being sold in twice as many pubs as it was in February.

The broker also believes Magners' penetration in the British market will make it more difficult for competitors to dislodge it. But it's not for lack of trying.

The success of Magners is now being reflected in a resurgence of interest in British cider. Scottish & Newcastle said last week it plans to launch a premium Belgian fruit-flavoured cider for sale at Sainsbury's and the Greene King pub estate this month. It is planning a national rollout for the brand next year. It hopes it will appeal to 25- to 34-year-old female wine drinkers looking for a lowerstrength alternative.

"We are firmly focused on recruiting new and lapsed drinkers at the premium end of the cider market by engaging with consumers from other alcoholic drink categories, " said Scottish &Newcastle marketing manager Stephen Mosey.

S&N is also rolling out a 'Bulmers Original' drink.

(C&C owns the Bulmers brand in Ireland, but not in Britain, hence the Magners name). S&N is marketing it in much the same way as Magners, and the brewer will spend a total of £27m promoting its ciders this year.

There's a battle on and C&C started it.

Research group Mintel recently reported that British cider sales have soared in the past two years, with total cider sales having grown by 305,000 hectolitres to 4.5 million hectolitres. S&N's main brand, Strongbow, put on 290,000 hl in that period, while Magners went from nothing to 170,000 hl.

All this points to big opportunities for C&C, and significant potential returns for shareholders, especially if the brand's success can be repeated in other markets.

It is a good news story at a time when markets are experiencing jitters that are sending other stocks south.

Merrion Stockbrokers said it is confident of Magners achieving (or exceeding) the broker's own forecast sales this year and is rating the stock as a 'buy' with a price target of 7.20.

In times of some stock market gloom, C&C is likely to be an attractive proposition.

If the Magners push continues to gain momentum, shareholders could be in for some very pleasant surprises.