Baileys, Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Smirnoff sound like a cocktail to remember — or a headache to forget. But each of these brands is the world’s bestseller in its category (that’s cream liqueur, Scotch whisky, Irish stout and premium vodka respectively), and they are all owned by the same company, Diageo (stock market ticker: DGE).
On Thursday Britain’s biggest brewer and distiller will pour this small shareholder a large one with its final dividend of 46.8p a share. Cheers! Or, as I prefer to say in memory of Joseph Eric James, my kind and wise Aberdonian father, slàinte mhath!
DGE is a founder constituent of the “forever fund”, and my 11th most valuable share. But it doesn’t get as many mentions in this column as it deserves, if only because I don’t want to give the impression that I do all my research on licensed premises.
Sunday Times. To read the full column click here
