BrewDog co-founder James Watt has apologised to small investors left empty-handed after the brewer was sold for £33m, admitting to “many mistakes” during his tenure. In a LinkedIn post, Watt issued a mea culpa to more than 200,000 “equity punks” who had invested £75m through crowdfunding rounds but received nothing from the sale to US cannabis and drinks company Tilray Brands.
The multimillionaire said he was “heartbroken” for the 484 staff who lost their jobs in the deal, after Tilray opted to buy only 11 of BrewDog’s 49 bars, leaving 38 to close. The sale, conducted via a pre-pack administration, saw administrators Alix Partners agree a deal before declaring insolvency.
Small investors lost out partly due to terms of an earlier 22% investment by private equity group TSG, which allowed Watt and co-founder Martin Dickie to cash out £100m but left crowdfunders with little chance of a return. Critics on LinkedIn accused Watt of prioritising institutional investors over the “equity punks”. Unite the union described the sale as a “national disgrace”.
The £33m sale price is a fraction of the £2bn valuation BrewDog once targeted ahead of a potential stock market flotation. The company’s decline followed five years of losses and controversies over its workplace culture, which Watt later apologised for, admitting to a “culture of fear”.
