Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Brockmans appoints Henri Brunel as new commercial director

Brockmans appoints Henri Brunel as new commercial director
Henri Brunel

Brockmans Gin, the first ‘properly improper’ gin company, has appointed Henri Brunel to the role of commercial director, based in central London.

Born in Belgium and having grown up in France, Brunel holds qualifications from revered establishments in both Paris and San Francisco, having held senior roles in the wine and spirits industry on both sides of the Atlantic.


His roles have included a position at a premium boutique Cognac house in California where he established a range of premium French spirits in the US West Coast market.

Later moving back to France and settling in Bordeaux, he headed the US market for Camus Cognac, one of the top five Cognac houses. In 2008, he joined Cognac A. de Fussigny, a premium boutique Cognac house, as sales director with the mission to develop the brand distribution across the world. As such, he implemented the brand in the travel retail and duty-free channel, in the global domestic markets.

In 2013, he joined Baron Philippe de Rothschild, a leading producer of premium wines, as director of travel retail and duty free. In five years, he grew the company’s brands - Mouton Cadet and Escudo Rojo - in the duty-free channel, making Mouton Cadet the leading Bordeaux wine brand sold in this channel. In 2021, Brunel was appointed regional director for the central and eastern European markets.

Brunel’s appointment comes hot on the heels of drinks veteran Jean-Dominique Andreu’s recruitment to the role of managing director of Brockmans.

“These are exciting times for the notorious, properly improper brand, as it leads the renaissance of premium gin in the UK and further afield,” Andreu commented on the latest appointment.

“Henri’s has considerable expertise in global commercial spirit markets and his appointment further cements Brockmans’ in its position at the forefront, of the premium gin market, and will enable more people to discover and experience its distinctive flavour.”

More for you

 ATM machine
Brits pull out nearly £80bn from LINK ATMs in 2024
Photo: iStock

Uneven transition: Where cash still clings on in Britain

The UK’s transition away from cash continues to accelerate, nearly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released today by LINK, the UK's cash access and ATM network.

While the trend towards a low-cash society is clear, the pace of this shift varies significantly across the country, indicating a complex and evolving payment landscape.

Keep ReadingShow less
Warning raised around slush drinks

slush drinks

iStock image

Warning raised against 'poor transparency' around slush drinks

Warnings have been issued against slush ice drinks by medical researchers, saying that poor transparency around slush ice drink glycerol concentration makes estimating a safe dose tricky.

Public health advice on the safe consumption of glycerol-containing slush ice drinks, also known as slushees, may need revising, stated medical researchers after carrying out a detailed review of the medical notes of 21 children who became acutely unwell shortly after drinking one of these products.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rising crime is devastating the Scottish convenience sector.

SGF Crime Report & Safer Business Guide

Photo: iStock

Crime devastating Scottish convenience sector: SGF

Retail crime is on the rise and the impact on staff, businesses and communities can be overwhelming, shows a Scottish retail industry's report released today (13), prompting calls from retailers for urgent support.

Figures published in the SGF Crime Report & Safer Business Guide 2024/25, reveal the appalling escalation in retail crime in recent years is only getting worse, while the sector continues to call for urgent action from government.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK government abolishes Payment Systems Regulator shifting responsibilities to FCA
Photo: iStock

Concerns raised over government's decision to abolish Payment Systems Regulator

As the government has confirmed that it will abolish the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) as part of its drive to cut red tape and boost economic growth, payments platform Ecommpay voiced concerns over the potential risks of dismantling a dedicated regulator at a time of heightened scrutiny in the payments sector.

Willem Wellinghoff, chief compliance officer and UK chair of Ecommpay, acknowledged the government’s commitment to "streamlining regulation, simplifying the amount of regulators that companies have to manage, and fostering economic growth through its deregulatory agenda."

Keep ReadingShow less
Digital wallets are set to account for 33% of in-store payments in the UK by 2030

UK payment landscape cash decline and rise of digital payments

iStock image

'UK embraces digital payments, yet cash remains key'

While digital payments dominate, with digital wallets set to rise to 33 per cent of in-store spending by 2030, traditional methods continue to hold ground in a fragmented UK market, shows a recent report mapping the UK’s payment landscape over the past decade.

According to the 10th edition of the Worldpay Global Payments Report (GPR),, the UK has witnessed a significant decline in cash use over the past decade, with its share of point-of-sale (POS) spending dropping from 32 per cent to 10 per cent between 2014 and 2024, accounting for £128 billion of in-store transactions.

Keep ReadingShow less