Forty-four staff members exit Guinness Nigeria after Tolaram takeover

Guinness Nigeria lost 44 staff members in 2025, with the company’s workforce declining from 796 in 2024 to 752 in 2025, according to the brewer’s 2025 audited financial statement seen by Economy Post. This coincided with the period of Tolaram Group‘s takeover of Guinness Nigeria, which was completed in October 2024.

In September 2024, Diageo and Tolaram announced a proposed transaction that would have Diageo transfer ownership of its 58.02 percent shareholding in Guinness Nigeria to Tolaram, making Tolaram the new majority shareholder. The deal was later completed by the end of 2024.

Having taken over the running of Guinness Nigeria, the company introduced changes that saw several of its directors resign. It also made appointments to its board of directors.

The newly constituted Board Chair, Dr Omobola Johnson, while commenting on the completion of the share transfer transaction, said: “The board, management and employees of Guinness Nigeria are excited about what the future holds in this new era, as we embrace the tremendous opportunities presented by the vast experience and decades of the remarkable presence of Tolaram in Nigeria building great brands.”

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He continued, “We thank all the directors who are exiting the board for their contributions to the growth of Guinness Nigeria and their tireless efforts to ensure a smooth transition for the share transfer transaction.”

Staff loss

In the company’s 2025 irregular financial statement, which began in July 2024 and ended in December 2025, a total of 44 staff exited the company within the period. The number of staff earning between N500,001 and N2 million annually declined from 23 to 6, while those receiving an annual salary of N2,000,001 and N5 million fell from 62 to 1.

However, the number of staff members earning between N5,000,001 and N10 million annually increased from 145 to 157, while those receiving N10 million and above rose from 566 to 588.

Hence, the staff exits occurred majorly among low-cadre workers, while the number increased for people in the managers and semi-managers’ cadres.

Guinness says no staff layoffs

It is common for companies to retrench staff members when a new owner takes over the business. However, Head of Corporate Communications, Sustainability and CSR, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr Olukemi Ogunsakin, said the company did not sack any staff member following the change of leadership.

“The referenced figure reflects normal staff turnover in the ordinary course of business,” he said. “To clarify, Guinness Nigeria has not understaken any staff layoffs following the change of ownership. We remain committed to maintaining a stable and supportive work environment for all our employees and will continue to engage transparently on matters relating to our people and operations.”

Revenue, profit

The company, however, reported a record revenue of N730.8 billion for the 18 months ended December 31, 2025, more than double the N299.5 billion posted in the prior 12-month period.

Net profit came stood at at N41.2 billion, as against a N54.8 billion loss recorded in 2024. Net finance costs jumped to N20.9 billion, from N99.1 billion.

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Basic earnings per share stood at 1,879 kobo, compared with a loss per share of 2,500 kobo a year earlier. Total equity rose to N43.3 billion from N2.2 billion, lifting net assets per share to 1,978 kobo from 99 kobo. The company did not declare dividends.

There was seamless transition to Tolaram’s majority ownership, with no disruption to the manufacturing and distribution of Guinness Nigeria’s diverse beverage portfolio. The company continued to maintain its beverage alcohol business, catering to all consumer segments.

Guinness Nigeria Plc is home of the first Guinness brewery outside of the British Isles. The first bottle of Guinness Foreign Extra Stout in Nigeria was brewed on the November 30, 1963, three years after Nigeria’s independence, opening up opportunities for the overseas Guinness Foreign Extra Stout brewing in other parts of the world. Two years later, in 1965, Guinness Nigeria was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.