London, Oct 8 (IANS) Cobra Beer founder and chairman Lord Karan Bilimoria has vowed to spend “several years” repaying creditors 70 million pounds after his company went into a pre-pack administration earlier this year.
Bilimoria said Wednesday he hoped to reach a settlement with the majority of unsecured creditors, including more than 300 small trade creditors, The Times reported Thursday.

He promised to repay a proportion of the money owed from his share of revenues from the relaunched Cobra Beer Partnership - the joint venture that acquired the brand from administration in May for 14 million pounds.

US brewer Molson Coors took a controlling 50.1 percent stake, while Bilimoria and other Cobra shareholders own the remaining 49.9 per cent.

Although Molson Coors Wednesday announced a three-year, 10 million pound investment to boost Cobra sales in the ethnic restaurant sector in Britain, Bilimoria said the longer-term aim was to boost exports in other markets where Molson Coors already has a strong presence, including Canada.

“That’s always been the dream, to create a global beer brand. We’re now in the best position possible to achieve that,” The Times quoted him as saying.