INTERVIEW
The allure of the 19th tee Lord Iveagh of the Guinness empire will bring his inaugural global golfing event to Royal Portrush this autumn. Here he speaks to Emma Deighan about his own business, the family’s charity and the Golf Guinness and Oyster Gathering
T
he Earl of Iveagh prefers to be addressed as Edward Guinness. To his friends he’s Ned.
Edward may not have as much involvement in the family business as his father did. Benjamin Guinness (The 3rd Earl of Iveagh) was the last in the Guinness family to be directly involved before the Black Stuff was taken over by Diageo but Edward still has his say in some of the most important decisions made by the global drinks company he told Ulster Business. “I do keep in touch closely with the team,” said Edward whose sons Arthur and Rupert launched an Irish stamp to celebrate Guinness’ 250th anniversary almost nine years ago. “It’s a very well-run company and I’m highly supportive of things they do like the new modern brewery Brewhouse No. 4,” continued Edward. “That was the largest capital project to take place during the financial crisis and it’s one of the most modern breweries in the world,” he added. “You could say I get to do the fun things without the responsibility but I still take the family’s legacy very seriously and I encourage the right people to make decisions that are fitting with Guinness’ traditions,” he said. Today much of Edward’s time is taken up by the work on his estate, Elveden, which he describes as an SME. It comprises three business disciplines; hospitality, agriculture and retail, employing 150 people. “The estate has been in the Guinness family since 1895,” he said of his Suffolk demesne. “It shifted from a shooting estate to a productive estate and has gone through every production you could think of. We grow, primarily, carrots, potatoes and parsnips and we have links to the trade including the retail multiples,” explained Edward. While the Guinness family owns 10 golf
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Lord Iveagh, left, with members of last year’s winning team at the Golf, Guinnes and Oyster Gathering
courses that are exclusively members-only clubs, the GGOG is the family’s first major tournament of this kind. GGOG is a global golfing tournament calling at three different cities - New York, Dubai, London and ending in Royal Portrush this October 5 where all winners will compete in the final alongside new teams joining from NI. It’s described by the organisers as a ‘readymade premium golf event attended by c-suites and HNWIs with b2b networking at the helm and a platform for businesses to provide premium hospitality and entertainment for their stakeholders’.
and venture capital business Tarncourt in London among those. There will be 25 teams and 100 people in the final with ten of the teams still available for NI-based businesses. “It’s an opportunity for businesses to meet likeminded people but also play on what is one of the world’s best golf courses and showcase it to their clients,” said Edward of the Royal Portrush venue which will be home to the 148th Open in 2019.
“The Guinness and oysters’ link has been strong and we decided to have a fun event to combine both,” began Edward on the event’s conception.
“The event is about having fun, networking and just having a laugh on the field and not taking it too seriously. There are some very good golfers who come to play competitively but also those who are blatantly out for the day and they haven’t got an enormously strong golfing ability.
“Grant Muskett who has organised it all was very ambitious and looked at a world series and with a lot of support from Diageo, Delta Airways and other brands we got going.”
“I’m a hopeless golfer and for the standards of the day I will hang up my clubs but I will be pouring pints. It’s a very good day to pour pints,” he added.
GGOG has welcomed CEOs and top tier executives from global firms to the competition already with hedge fund company Solovis, Texas, shipping and logistics firm DFS Middle East and property investment
One of Edward’s other focal points on the day will be raising funds for the Guinness family’s 125-year-old charity, The Iveagh Trust, which offers affordable rented housing to people on low incomes in and around the Dublin area. ■