DRINKING IN THE AVIVA

Drinks giant Diageo has been forced to cut the wholesale price of Guinness to the company operating the bars at the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin after being threatened with a cheaper UK alternative, according to the Sunday Business Post.

In a move that will likely make the average publican exclaim “if only”, Compass Catering has used purchasing muscle to broker the deal by threatening to import Guinness from the UK if Diageo didn’t comply.

A 50l keg of Guinness costs publicans €131.66 but the ex-duty price of the same keg to the on-trade in the UK is €66 – a whopping 50% less. Even allowing for payment of Irish duty for re-importing a keg, this would rise to €99.33, which would still make it more than worthwhile for a large company like Compass to do so.

Compass and Diageo both refused to comment on the report.