Shares in focus: Diageo, a premium drinks giant

Diageo is the world's largest producer of premium alcoholic drinks with a cabinet full of well-known names. This is a quality stock, says Phil Oakley - but given its price, is now the time to buy?

What is Diageo?

Diageo is the world's leading premium alcoholic drinks business. Its leading brands include Johnnie Walker whisky, Smirnoff vodka, Baileys liqueur, Captain Morgan rum, Jos Cuervo tequila, Tanqueray gin, and Guinness. The company trades in more than 80 markets and had sales of £9.9bn in the year to June 2011.

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Phil spent 13 years as an investment analyst for both stockbroking and fund management companies.

 

After graduating with a MSc in International Banking, Economics & Finance from Liverpool Business School in 1996, Phil went to work for BWD Rensburg, a Liverpool based investment manager. In 2001, he joined ABN AMRO as a transport analyst. After a brief spell as a food retail analyst, he spent five years with ABN's very successful UK Smaller Companies team where he covered engineering, transport and support services stocks.

 

In 2007, Phil joined Halbis Capital Management as a European equities analyst. He began writing for MoneyWeek in 2010.