United Spirits, Diageo’s Indian arm, has agreed to sell a production site in the eastern state of Odisha to local business Cupid Breweries & Distilleries.

In a stock exchange filing, Cupid Breweries & Distilleries said the site in Gopalpur has a production capacity of around 250,000 cases per month.

The fledgling firm described the acquisition as “a significant step in the company's growth and expansion strategy".

Cupid Breweries & Distilleries will pay United Spirits Rs225m ($2.4m). The company has already put up an advance of Rs10m under the terms of the agreement.

Just Drinks has approached Cupid Breweries & Distilleries and United Spirits for further comment.

Last week, United Spirits, which has been reshaping its manufacturing network in India, announced the closure of a production site in the southern city of Hyderabad.

In a stock exchange filing, United Spirits, which makes brands such as Black Dog whisky, said the closure is part of its “multi-year supply-chain agility programme” approved by the board in 2023.

Cupid Breweries & Distilleries was set up in 1986 as Cupid Trades and Finance Limited. In 2024, the company signalled it was moving into beverage alcohol with a change in its name to Cupid Breweries & Distilleries.

Last month, the group said its board had approved a plan to explore “potential opportunities” to acquire additional manufacturing sites across India.

The group stated it had "operational, under-implementation and
acquisition-stage projects" that represent a total annual production capacity of
around 8.4 million cases of IMFL, 1.5 million cases of beer and just under 1.1 million litres of "craft/micro brewery capacities".

The filing, dated 19 May, added: "The board further noted that multiple projects are at advanced stages of operational readiness and that the management continues to engage in discussions with prospective strategic investors and business participants in the interest of the company’s long-term growth and expansion plans."