Allied Blenders buys rights to Mansion House and Savoy Club Brands

Mumbai: Allied Blenders and Distillers Ltd (ABD) said it has acquired global rights for Mansion House and Savoy Club brands from UTO Asia for $1.2 million.

The deal excludes territories such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, China, and Myanmar.

"The acquisition of UTO Asia and the associated ownership of worldwide right, title interest in the Mansion House and Savoy Club brands aligns with ABD's strategic expansion objectives, allowing it to gain full control over the Mansion House and Savoy Club brands on a global scale, while specifically addressing regional interests in key markets," it said in a BSE filing. In India, Tilaknagar Industries Ltd and ABD are involved in a trademark dispute over these brands. While Tilaknagar holds exclusive rights to sell these brands in India, ABD has been granted permission by the Bombay High Court to launch products under the same brand names, particularly in West Bengal.


Tilaknagar Industries entered a pact with Herman Jensen (formerly UTO) nearly four decades ago and had claimed the latter ceded the rights of Mansion House brandy to rescue itself from a court action in Rotterdam in 1987. Under this arrangement, Jensen would retain Mansion House brand in whisky, which was a bigger business then. The Dutch side, however, argued that the arrangement was never legally solemnised and moved courts in 2008, when Mansion House brandy had emerged as a formidable brand in the Indian market.

In December 2011, a one-member bench of the Bombay HC held that Tilaknagar had the rights to Mansion House in India, but Herman Jensen went on to appeal before a division bench. In 2014, ABD bought a 50% stake in the two brands from Herman Jansen, giving ABD rights to produce and sell them in the country. In February this year, the Bombay HC dismissed Tilaknagar's plea and granted Allied Blenders permission to use the Mansion House brand name for some of its products in West Bengal.