James Watt could plough £10m towards BrewDog buyout
BrewDog co-founder James Watt looks set to plough £10m of his own funds to a potential buyout of the craft brewery, which currently faces administration.
Just last week, the Scottish beer and bar giant called in consultants AlixPartners in a move to restructure the company and explore a sale.
Now, the former boss of the Scottish beer and bar chain was in the process of organising external investors to acquire BrewDog’s bars, brands and brewing businesses in their entirety, Sky News has reported.
Watt left his role at BrewDog in 2024 after 17 years as CEO.
Watt’s return?
First bids were made last week, as advisers sought to sell the lossmaking business, but now, AlixPartners are being asked to table second-round offers for the company, according to Sky News.
Several multinational brewers are thought to have expressed interest in BrewDog’s brewing and beer operations, although the future of its bars division is said to be “less clear”, Sky News reported.
According to reports in The Times, Watt has secured private equity support for a potential deal that would include a number of BrewDog’s pubs as well as its factory in Ellon, Scotland. Under the proposals, around a fifth of the company, which is currently owned by retail investors, could be rolled into the new structure, with Watt holding about half of the business and his financial backers owning the remainder.
However, the newspaper added there is “no guarantee” that a transaction will be completed.
Sticky situation
There are some 220,000 shareholders in BrewDog in the form of its ‘Equity For Punks’ schemes, who committed around £400 each but will be unlikely to gain any financial returns.
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Separately, The Telegraph reported that HSBC has secured its lending against BrewDog’s brewery, giving the bank the right to take control of the site if required, in an effort to limit further losses.
Last month, Brewdog revealed it was closing the distillery at its headquarters in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, shutting the business indefinitely. This comes after the brewer closed 10 UK bars in 2025 including its flagship site in Aberdeen.
Looking back
In October last year, the craft brewer also made a round of job cuts. At the time, chief executive James Taylor stated in a note to employees that it was necessary to “right-size parts of the business” as a result of a “tough and fast-changing market”. That same month, the brewer announced the sale of its Lost Forest, a sustainability initiative which, by the end of 2023, had planted more than 500,000 trees.
BrewDog reported a pre-tax loss of £37m in 2024, the fifth year in a row it had failed to make a profit.
Watt remains a major shareholder of BrewDog alongside Martin Dickie, who launched the business with Watt in 2007, but who also exited the company last year.
Dickie’s departure
At the time, BrewDog CEO James Taylor praised Dickie’s “immeasurable” contribution to the company.
He said: “His creativity, passion, and relentless drive have shaped our company over the years and inspired countless others in the industry.”
BrewDog has been contacted for comment.
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