Pimm's owner auction of drinks brand after 'sounding out bidders'

The owner of Pimm's has scrapped plans to sell off the fruit cocktail brand after months spent sounding out potential bidders.

Diageo, which also owns Guinness and Johnny Walker whiskey, had been set to auction off what has long been the quintessential summer drink.

However, this title could be coming under pressure, as experts suggest Italian rival Aperol could be muscling in on its territory.

Investment bankers at Rothschild had been hired by Diageo at the start of the year to gauge the appetite for Pimm's' sale, but the process was abandoned, according to Sky News.

The booze conglomerate has owned Pimm's since it was formed on the back of  the merger between Grand Metropolitan and Guinness plc in 1997.

Experts have suggested that the summery drink could be a less appealing potential acquisition for a buyer because of its limited market.

Analysts at IWSR told The Telegraph that as Pimm's has such a 'weather-dependent' appeal, and is mainly consumed in the UK alone, it would not be such an attractive proposition for big bidders.

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And researchers at NIQ added that Pimm's sales were down an estimated 19 per cent on the previous year - a period in which Aperol overtook the fruity staple.

London oyster bar owner James Pimm created the famous drink in 1840 to aid digestion, but the drink has since become synonymous with British summer as it is regularly seen in the hands of guests at Wimbledon's All England Club and the Chelsea Flower Show.

Those events were hit badly by one of the worst UK summers in recent times this year - 2024's was the coldest summer in nine years - perhaps hitting sales.

The Grocer suggested earlier in the year that Pimm's could sell for between £40m and £60m, with estimates putting its annual sales at roughly £86m.

Diageo declined to comment.