Guinness Leaving Dublin?

From NAM News:

Diageo has said it is reviewing brewing operations in Ireland after local media reported the drinks giant may quit the Dublin city centre site where Guinness has been brewed for almost 250 years. "The Diageo brewing business is considering a number of important investment decisions on upgrading and renewing its brewing facilities in Ireland in the coming years," the company said in a statement.

The review was at a "very early stage" and a report in the Sunday Independent newspaper that the company was preparing to move from its landmark St James's Gate site on the banks of Dublin's River Liffey was "speculation", Diageo added. "No decisions have been made or will be made until the assessment is completed," the world's largest alcoholic drinks company said.

The site, where Arthur Guinness took out a 9,000 year lease on a disused brewery in 1759, has grown into what the brewer now describes as "a prime 64 acre (25 hectare) slice of Dublin". The Sunday Independent reported the land could fetch as much as E3bn if Diageo implements plans to move production to a greenfield site on the outskirts of the Irish capital.