Diageo Provides £2.4M To Transform Pubs and Bars Outdoor Sports Gardens Across GB

Diageo, maker of GUINNESS, is offering the opportunity for pubs, restaurants and bars to transform their outdoor sports areas through the latest phase of the Raising the Bar £30m initiative. The programme launched in 2020 and has supported over 30,000 outlets over the last two years.

Diageo is providing £2.4m to help provide safe and comfortable outdoors spaces to outlets who have struggled to host guests outdoors over the past 18 months. Outlets can apply for the scheme on Diageo One now.

With sporting focused venues in GB recovering behind the rest of the market[1], the latest support from Raising the Bar will offer successful outlets a variety of options to maximise their outdoor spaces, including stretch tents/awning, timber cladded walls, standalone bars, outdoor seating, external lighting and more[2].

Catharina von Franck, Commercial Director, On Trade, comments: “Pre-pandemic, 54% of consumers in GB watched live sports in the on trade[3] and we anticipate a growing demand for these in-venue sporting moments once more. The Raising the Bar team continue to look at ways to support the on trade and we look forward to seeing how we can help transform those outdoor sporting spaces not only to help businesses, but also to create amazing experiences for consumers.”

To apply for support, licensees simply need to fill out a questionnaire on www.diageo-one.com by the 30th April 2022. Successful outlets will be selected by a non-commercial board from Diageo and will hear from the Raising the Bar team in May, with installations taking place across May and June. The criteria for outlets to apply is split into four stages; outlet details for validation, understanding size and scale of the venue, assessing the need of venue for support and assessing outlet viability for install. Outlets will also have the opportunity to elaborate within the questionnaire how the pandemic has affected their ability to showcase live sports in their venue.

Since launching in 2020, Raising the Bar has invested £30m in targeted support and has worked with 30,000 outlets in GB to provide 1million litres of hand sanitiser, 15,000 PPE kits, 600 mobile bars, 150,000 parasols and over 30,000 hand sanitiser dispenser stations. To help bars, pubs and restaurants operate safely and securely, Diageo also offers free access to digital training and practical support through Diageo One.

[1] CGA On Trade Market Report MAT to 26.02.22

[2] Installations subject to outlet survey, subsequent viability and availability of materials

[3] CGA Brandtrack Analysis: 2021 Sporting Opportunity in the On-Trade. Feb 2020. Sample size: 5095