Guinness to open London brewery as Diageo grows brand venue business
Diageo is to invest £73m in building a Guinness microbrewery in London to capitalize on the success of its brand experience venues.
London to get a Guinness microbrewery tourist site in Covent Garden
The 50,000 sq ft Covent Garden venue will produce limited edition beers and run guided tours as Diageo looks to generate more revenue from its tourist sites.
It follows the opening of Johnnie Walker Princes Street in Edinburgh last year and the Guinness tour in Baltimore. Diageo is also planning another Guinness site in Chicago.
The site is set to create 150 jobs and act as a “community space”, offering 100 bartending and hospitality training courses across the Diageo group. There will also be a restaurant and bar with a panoramic glass rooftop view of London.
Due to open in Autumn 2023, it will be the first time the Irish stout has been brewed in England since 2005 when the Park Royal brewery closed.
Brixton Brewery, Camden Town Brewery and Goose Island have also recently updated their breweries to meet the growing demand for beer tours.
The investment news comes as Diageo posted a 22.5% jump in operating profit in the second half of 2021.