Diageo has announced plans to construct a Guinness microbrewery and culture hub in London, at a total cost of £73 million.
The development will create 150 jobs, and the group hopes that it will be an attractive destination ‘for all to enjoy’.
Old Brewer’s Yard
Guinness at Old Brewer’s Yard is set to open in London’s Covent Garden in autumn 2023, on a historic brewing site.
Old Brewer’s Yard first brewed beer back in 1722.
The investment builds on the success of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin and the opening of Johnnie Walker Princes Street, in Edinburgh, in 2021, as well as increased interest in the drink.
Guinness sales in Great Britain have grown by over 30% in the last six months, and one in every ten pints sold in London is now a Guinness.
The new 50,000-square-foot venue will create up to 150 jobs for the capital and provide a community space within the Covent Garden area.
The site will also become the southern UK hub of the Diageo award-winning Learning for Life bartending and hospitality programme, with an ambition for over 100 London-based students to graduate from the Guinness at Old Brewer’s Yard programme annually.
A proportion of the employment opportunities are to be ringfenced for Learning for Life graduates.
Dayalan Nayager, managing director, Diageo Great Britain, said, “We’re excited to create a new home for Guinness in the heart of London. Guinness at Old Brewer’s Yard will strengthen London’s hospitality community and be a must-visit destination for thousands of visitors to enjoy.”
The UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, visited the site to show support for the project and commented, “This multimillion-pound investment is a crucial vote of confidence in our capital. Three hundred years after brewing the first beer in Old Brewer’s Yard, it’s fantastic to see Guinness breathing life into our hospitality and tourism industries, and creating more jobs and training opportunities in Central London.”
Diageo’s Society 2030: Spirit of Progress
In line with Diageo’s Society 2030: Spirit of Progress action plan, the newest home for Guinness will be carbon neutral by 2030 and accessible to all.
Key to the new site will be a community programme.
A similar programme took place during the pandemic, at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore, USA, where 500 loaves of Brewer’s Bread were created every week using ingredients sourced from within the brewery and donated to the local Maryland Food Bank.
© 2022 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click sign up to subscribe to Checkout.
