Dutch rivals put pressure on S&N in Russia.

Regional brewer Scottish & Newcastle looks to be facing renewed competition in Russia after Dutch rival Heineken was reported to be expanding its operations there.

Newcastle Brown Ale producer S&N is joint owner with Denmark's Carlsberg of Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH), which has a majority stake in Russia's biggest brewer, Baltika.

Baltika recently increased its share of the fast-growing Russian market to 36% and yesterday posted a 53% rise in half-year profits to pounds 64 - 1m.

Now Heineken is reportedly set to follow up its acquisitions of Russian brewers Patra and Stepan Razin with the purchase of Moscow-based Taranov in a pounds 310m deal. Taranov is the country's seventh biggest brewer with three sites spread across Russia and a nationwide beer distribution network.

Heineken declined to comment yesterday, but if the deal goes through, it will be the second biggest transaction in the Russian brewing industry after the buy-out of the SUN brewery by Stella Artois producer InBev.

Heineken and InBev are both trying to close the gap on S&N and Carlsberg in the Russian market, now the world's fifth largest beer market.

S&N announced yesterday Dr Iain Anderson was retiring as a non-executive director at the end of the month.

S&N chairman Sir Brian Stewart said: "Scottish & Newcastle has gained enormously from Iain's wide experience and his deep understanding of the challenges facing an international consumer business as we have developed as an international brewer."