Black day for Dublin’s Guinness brewery

Diageo is expected to announce plans this week to close part of its historic Guinness brewery site in Dublin and sell the land for redevelopment. The company launched a review last June of the 56-acre site at St James’s Gate, which is valued by property experts at up to €1 billion (£780 million). The brewery, which dates back to 1759, exports Guinness flavour extract to 50 breweries around the world and brews Draught Guinness for Britain and Ireland. It is believed that Diageo will retain the Guinness Storehouse, a popular tourist attraction, and enough land to continue producing the extract there. The company is expected to build a new brewery on a greenfield site outside Dublin, although some sources have suggested it could continue to brew Guinness for the home market at St James’s Gate. (Dominic Walsh)

Employers demand flexible work help

A leading business group is pressing the Government to delay plans to give workers greater rights to flexible working. The EEF manufacturers’ organisation argues that companies need more time to get used to the present law on flexible working before more employees are allowed to seek flexible arrangements. Peter Schofield, director of employment and legal affairs at the EEF, said: “The last thing manufacturers need now is to have to consider more and more flexible requests. They need time before this right is extended to employees.” (Christine Buckley)

Docklands ExCel sold for £178m

The ExCel docklands conference centre, London’s largest exhibition centre, which hosts the London boat show and London Triathlon, is being bought by the Abu Dhabi Government for £178 million. A property company set up, owned and financed by the Gulf state has made a recommended cash bid for ExCel’s owner, London International Exhibition Centre Holdings. The purchase marks what promises to be the start of an international acquisitions drive by Abu Dhabi to buy similar-sized venues and to tap into the multibillion-pound conferencing industry. (James Rossiter)

Bellway merger talks reveal pressure

Two of Britain’s housebuilders have been in merger talks. Bellway is understood to have approached Redrow about an all-shares, nil-premium merger, along with at least one other company. John Watson, the chief executive, refused to comment on any deal, which would create a £1.3 billion company, and it is thought that no talks are taking place at present. In the wake of the credit crunch, there has been a stream of gloomy trading statements from housebuilders. Persimmon, the sector leader, said that it would stop building on new sites until conditions had improved. (Martin Waller)

TNS turns down WPP

Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), the market research group, has rejected an unsolicited £948 million offer from WPP, the advertising group led by Sir Martin Sorrell. TNS’s board met yesterday to consider a WPP proposal valuing it at 230p a share, but decided that it was against shareholders’ interests.

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