Pimm’s sale scrapped as Aperol eclipses it as drink of the summer
The owner of Pimm’s has scrapped a sale of the drinks brand as demand for the British fruit cocktail comes under pressure from Italian rival Aperol.
Diageo, which also owns Guinness and Johnny Walker whisky, is understood to have ended an auction for Pimm’s after months of sounding out potential bidders.
The process, which was being run by bankers at Rothschild, has come to an end after Diageo failed to agree terms for a sale of the brand.
The decision to end the auction was first reported by Sky News.
Pimm’s was created in 1840 by James Pimm, a London oyster bar owner, with the drink designed to aid digestion. It went on to be served at Queen Victoria’s lunches and was awarded a Royal Warrant.
The drink has become synonymous with British summertime and has links to major sports and social events including Wimbledon tennis tournament and Chelsea Flower Show.
However, the gin-based cocktail remains heavily reliant on the UK market, where it makes more than two thirds of its sales. It has struggled to gain much traction in overseas markets.
Experts suggested this could put off larger drinks conglomerates in a bidding process, with The Grocer earlier this year reporting that Pimm’s could sell for between £40m and £60m. Estimates have previously put its retail sales at around £86m.
Diageo does not split out its sales figures by brands.
It comes amid a surge in popularity of Aperol, the Italian bitter aperitif that is served as a spritz.
According to figures from NIQ, the value of Pimm’s sold in the UK was down around 19pc over the past year compared to a year earlier. Aperol, meanwhile, saw its total sales value in the UK increase over the year. NIQ figures suggested Aperol had leapfrogged Pimm’s during the period.
Meanwhile, Aperol has been performing better than Pimm’s among UK consumers in terms of sales volume since 2021, according to data from analysts IWSR.
Patrick Fisher, an analyst at IWSR, said: “A shift from the shot occasion towards the more sophisticated aperitif occasion reflects the gradual long-term move in the UK market, away from late-night, high-tempo occasions to more relaxed early-evening drinking.”
He said Pimm’s was “highly seasonal and weather-dependent, performing best in a hot summer”.
Met Office data shows 2024 was the coolest summer since 2015. The UK was also hit by bouts of rain over recent months. Wimbledon, in particular, said it saw lower attendance this year after almost a month’s worth of rain fell on the tournament during its first week.
Diageo declined to comment.