Drinks giant Diageo is weighing up options to sell its wine division, amid investors' concerns over poor sales in its wine brands.
The UK-based producer of Guinness and Smirnoff is, according to a report from Sky News, "following approaches from a number of unidentified third parties" about offloading its wine, which includes Blossom Hill and Sterling Vineyards.
The possibility of divestment comes after Diageo recently posted an unexpected third quarter sales decline of 0.7 per cent, after business deteriorated across Europe, Asia and Latin America.
The wine brands, which also include Piat D'or and Justerini & Brooks, comprise only four per cent of Diageo's total revenue, and is not considered a core part of the company's global business.
Although the plan to sell the wine division is being floated, and has received a number of interested parties, any concrete decision is still some way off, with no timeline in place for the sale.
Speaking about the potential sale, a spokeswoman for Diageo said: "We are sure there are many people who would love to own our wine business and we have received expressions of interest over the years.
"As you would expect we have a duty to consider any such interest carefully."
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