Diageo has announced plans to invest a further €400m (£346m) in its newly opened brewery in Littleconnell in County Kildare, Ireland.
The Littleconnell Brewery, which officially opens today (11 May) following a €300m investment project that kicked off in 2022, will focus on the production of lagers and ales including Hop House 13 and Smithwick’s.
However, another new brewery at the site will now be constructed to produce Guinness and Guinness 0.0 for export. Originally, Diageo had said the expansion project at Kildare would free up space for production of Guinness and Guinness 0.0 at its St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin.
The new brewery in Kildare would support Guinness growth in new and emerging markets, with Guinness for consumption in Ireland, the UK and US continuing to be made at St James’s Gate, Diageo said.
Following the latest announcement, Diageo said it had committed to investing €1bn in production upgrades in Ireland between 2020 and 2029. Alongside the Kildare project, the drinks giant has invested further funds to improve the sustainability of St James’s Gate, and at its packaging facility in Belfast.
“The demand for Guinness and Guinness 0.0. is surging,” said Diageo CEO Dave Lewis. “Today Diageo is proud to unveil our new state-of-the-art brewery at Littleconnell, part of our €1bn investment in Ireland. How fitting that it’s in County Kildare, the birthplace of Arthur Guinness.”
Colin O’Brien, head of global beer supply at Diageo, added: “Ireland plays a key role in Diageo’s global beer supply, and Littleconnell is central to enabling future growth in Guinness exports.
“This site is part of Diageo’s near-€1bn investment programme that strengthens capacity, builds resilience across our brewing network and supports the global growth of Guinness and Guinness 0.0 from Ireland.
“Littleconnell, together with the developments at St James’s Gate, will enable growth in overall beer exports from Ireland and help us deliver on Diageo’s Spirit of Progress sustainability commitments.”
The first phase of the Kildare expansion had originally been forecast to cost €200m by Diageo, but construction was delayed by a High Court challenge until May 2024.
At capacity, the new brewery will be able to produce two million hectolitres annually, making it the second-largest brewery in Ireland after St James’s Gate. The second brewery will more than double production capacity at the site to 4.5 million hectolitres.
Guinness has been a rare bright spot for Diageo as the Johnnie Walker supplier has struggled with declining spirits sales. In the year to last June, organic net sales of Guinness climbed 13%, well ahead of the 1.7% increase reported at a group level.
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