UK: Diageo will not sell the St Francis Abbey Brewery site until at least the end of 2012

Despite rumours that the St Francis Abbey Brewery site is being sold for 55 million euro, Diageo promises that the historic central site will not be sold until at least the end of 2012, Kilkenny People wrote on July 29.

“That is absolutely untrue,” a Diageo spokeswoman said when asked about the rumour. “It is a working brewery and will continue to be so until at least the end of 2012.”

As Diageo shifts a large amount of its operations to a new site in Co Dublin, the St Francis Abbey Brewery is due to close in 2013, after nearly 300 working years. The sale of the Kilkenny lands and other properties are expected to eventually bring the company around 500 million euro.

“Diageo’s brewery investment in Ireland has really only started, and the brewery is due to continue to be operational in Kilkenny up to 2013,” the Diageo spokeswoman said. A new brew house to be built on the north side of Dublin is expected to open in 2013.

As it was reported, ninety-three people are directly employed in Diageo’s brewing operation in Kilkenny, in addition to transport and other businesses linked to the city centre premises.

31 July, 2008