GlaxoSmithKline offloads venerable British brands to Suntory for £1.35bn in order to focus on 'core portfolio' of healthcare brands

Ribena and Lucozade have become the latest classic British brands to fall into foreign hands after GlaxoSmithKline offloaded the drinks products to a Japanese company for £1.35bn.

Global rights to the brands as well as GSK's Coleford manufacturing site in the Forest of Dean will be transferred to Suntory Beverage & Food, the world's fourth largest supplier of soft drinks.

GSK said the "vast majority" of its 700 employees at the site and those working for Ribena and Lucozade in commercial as well as research and development functions will transfer to Suntory, which is best known for its Orangina brand.

The UK drugs giant said the sale was part of its bid to focus on "a core portfolio" of healthcare brands, with a particular emphasis on emerging markets.

David Redfern, chief strategy officer at GSK, said: "Lucozade and Ribena are iconic brands that have made a huge contribution to GSK over the years, but now is the right time to sell them as we increase the focus of our consumer healthcare business and execute the delivery of our late stage pipeline of pharmaceuticals and vaccines."

Lucozade, then known as Glucozade, was invented by William Owen in 1927, who was experimenting with methods to provide the sick with an easy energy source.

Ribena was invented a decade later by Dr Vernon Charley, who was researching using pure fruit juices for milkshakes. It is named after the Latin for blackcurrant, Ribes nigrum.

During the second world war, a lack of vitamin C in the UK led to a government decree and Ribena was given as a supplement in schools, hospitals and nursing homes. It made its first appearance on television screens in the 1950s and by the 1960s Ribena had become one of Britain's favourite blackcurrant drinks.

Annual sales of Ribena and Lucozade were around £500m in 2012. In Nigeria, GSK will continue to manufacture and distribute the two drinks brands under licence from Suntory.

Ribena and Lucozade are the latest in a string of British brands to be sold off to foreign buyers, following the sale of Branston, Weetabix, Cadbury and Haywards pickles among others in recent years.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approval. GSK said the proceeds from the sale would be used to reduce debt and "for general corporate purposes".