UK: Diageo’s Covent Garden brewery delayed until 2025

Diageo’s plans to open a 50,000 sq ft microbrewery and culture hub for Guinness in central London have been pushed into next year, after the lead contractor for the project fell into administration, The Grocer reported on October 15.

Beck Interiors, which was appointed by Diageo to fit out the £73m ‘Guinness at Old Brewer’s Yard’ venture in Covent Garden last November, was placed into administration in July, according to documents filed at Companies House.

Several of the construction firm’s assets, including a contract to upgrade The Dorchester hotel, were purchased in pre-pack deals, according to the administrator’s report.

However, The Grocer understands Diageo has had to seek out a new contractor following Beck’s collapse. This has forced it to push back its plan to open the site by this October.

“While delays are of course disappointing, they are common for substantial construction,” a spokesman for Diageo told The Grocer. “We remain very excited to open the doors of the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in London next year, reaching an even broader audience for Guinness than before.”

Asked if the delays had led to an increase in the cost of the project, the Diageo spokesman declined to comment.

The Grocer understands the disruption has also led Diageo to press pause on plans to hire staff to run the microbrewery. It had previously advertised for and interviewed candidates for a number of roles related to the project.

Announcing it had won a tender to fit out the Old Brewer’s Yard site last year, Beck Interiors said it had been instructed to redevelop five empty buildings and one external space to create an “incredible hospitality destination”.

The site would comprise “a world-leading microbrewery, event spaces, seven bars, VIP private bars and tasting rooms, dining spaces, a Guinness retail space, 360-degree cinema and a covered courtyard”, Beck said.

Ground was broken on the project in August last year.

First announced in January 2022, Guinness at Old Brewer’s Yard was billed by then Diageo GB MD Dayalan Nayager as a “new home for Guinness in the heart of London”.

The venue would create up to 150 jobs and provide “a community space within the Covent Garden area”, Diageo said at the time.

The investment was praised by then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, who described it as “a crucial vote of confidence in our capital”.

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