Pub landlords are warning that Guinness could become “the first £10 pint” after its maker Diageo announced a 5.2 per cent price increase on draught Guinness from April. The rise follows a 4.2 per cent hike last year, adding to mounting costs for publicans.
Diageo said the increase, equivalent to 4p per pint, was necessary to manage rising operational costs. A spokesperson told The Independent: “Like all businesses, Diageo must carefully manage the rising cost of doing business through regular pricing review of our products. We have kept today’s cost price increase to a minimum.” The company also said the move would allow continued investment in brands and support for the hospitality sector.
Pub owners have reacted with dismay. Mark Edgell, director of the Dog and Partridge in Yateley, Hampshire, told the Morning Advertiser that Diageo seemed “hell-bent on having the first £10 a pint beer.” He noted that a pint of Guinness in his pub had already risen from £5.50 to £6.50 in three years and would soon hit £6.90.
Edgell added: “Pubs are being forced to add huge increases to the price of a pint beyond what the public will find acceptable. With rising energy costs, two recent rounds of national minimum and living wage increases, rises in national insurance contributions … beer duty increases and high VAT rates, along with a recent business rates valuation increase, this price hike from Diageo is just another slap in the face.”
Rob Barr, owner of Barr and Barr Hospitality, which runs three pubs in West Sussex and Dorset, described the price hike as “extreme” and warned Diageo was making its pints “unaffordable” for pub goers. Diageo confirmed that Guinness 0.0, Guinness Microdraught, and Guinness Draught in Can 440ml four packs would not be affected by the increase.
