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The owner of Guinness has denied reports it is exploring an £8bn sale of the brand as the Irish stout enjoys a surge of popularity.
Diageo, the FTSE 100 drinks giant, said on Sunday it had “no intention to sell” after reports that it was considering disposing of or spinning off the Dublin-headquartered business.
Diageo’s shares climbed 4pc on Friday following a report by Bloomberg that Guinness could be sold or listed. The report also claimed Diageo was considering selling its 34pc stake in Moët Hennessy, which is part of luxury goods group LVMH.
However, a spokesman said on Sunday: “We note recent media speculation around the Guinness brand and our stake in Moët Hennessy and we can confirm that we have no intention to sell either.”
Diageo, which also owns Johnnie Walker whisky and Smirnoff vodka, has seen a sudden explosion in popularity for Guinness in recent months, leading to claims that some UK pubs have experienced shortages.
Once the preferred drink of rugby fans, “the black stuff” has attracted legions of new drinkers from Gen Z, driven by social media trends and growing popularity among young women.
On TikTok, trends such as “splitting the G”, where Guinness drinkers seek to down enough of their pint so the head of the beer bisects the company’s logo, have seen the brand shoot to viral fame.
Last year, Debra Crew, the chief executive of Diageo, said while Guinness had once been associated with “this kind of rugby lad culture”, the company was finding “more and more Guinness drinkers that are women”.
Guinness is the sponsor of the Six Nations rugby tournament.
Guinness overtook Carling as the best-selling beer in British pubs in 2022, while a non-alcholic version of the drink, which debuted in 2021, has also been well received. The alcohol-free version now accounts for around 3pc of Guinness sales worldwide.
City analysts sought to pour cold water on the reports that Guinness could be sold, given its strong sales.
Yet while Guinness has outperformed expectations, Diageo’s shares are down by more than a third compared to their peak in 2021 as a boom in drinking fuelled by the pandemic wanes.
Diageo has long faced speculation that it could sell Guinness as a way to revive its fortunes. It previously sold its Red Stripe beer brand to Heineken and has offloaded its holdings in its Guinness breweries in Africa.
Bloomberg reported that Diageo has been exploring a range of options for its brands, which are at an early stage, including spinning off Guinness. It could look to list the division, while also testing market interest in a takeover.