Former BrewDog Bars CEO on BrewDog closures – ‘government policy made profitable bars marginal’: James Brown, chief executive of Brava Hospitality Group, and former chief executive of BrewDog Bars, has called the closure of 38 of the Scottish brewer and retailers bars a “very sad day that unfortunately many of us could see coming” as government policy on rates and employment taxes has turned profitable bars into marginal ones. Yesterday (Monday, 2 March), US firm Tilray acquired BrewDog’s worldwide intellectual property, UK brewing operations and a portfolio of 11 “premier and profitable brewpubs”, but 38 UK bars closed with immediate effect, with the loss of 484 jobs. Brown said: “A very sad day that unfortunately many of us could see coming. Hundreds of incredibly talented hospitality professionals woke up this morning without work following the closures at BrewDog. Behind every one of those 484 roles is a person, a family, a contributor to their local economy and community. And the hard truth? It didn’t need to be this way. In 2024, the majority of the bars that closed yesterday were profitable. Some were regularly delivering revenues north of £60,000 per week. Most were doing above £20,000. These were not failing venues in tired locations with no demand. But when national insurance rises combine with huge increases in business rates, the maths changes quickly. Profitable bars become marginal. Marginal bars become loss-making. The best bars profit is curbed and can support the group less, in the hope that things will get better in the future. And when owners, old or new, have no confidence the business environment will improve in the near future, and they have optionality of where to invest their capital, the decision is out of their hands. This isn’t unique to BrewDog – it’s happening across thousands of venues up and down the country. The difference here is brand awareness, scale and visibility. For years now, government policy on rates and employment taxes has steadily eroded confidence in hospitality. The result? More than 200,000 hospitality jobs lost in recent years. Yesterday, another 484 economically active, tax-paying contributors were added to that number, people now potentially reliant on the state instead of strengthening it. Could the leaders of the business including myself 18 months ago done more? The answer is almost certainly yes and by no means is my take on things laying the blame squarely at the door of Rachel Reeves, but the leadership over the nearly 20 years of BrewDog could never have envisaged the world post Brexit, post covid and the tax, costs and administration burden facing businesses today. Hospitality is one of the UK’s great industries. It creates first jobs, careers, entrepreneurs, communities. I often say it’s the unofficial (and unrecognised) national service for this country. It regenerates high streets and fuels local economies, most of all it teaches mumbling teenagers (like me) to speak to other humans, interact with customers, and teaches them how to be a good employee. It also exports talent and ideas around the world. In BrewDog’s case we often joked we exported Scottish beer and Scottish people around the world, hang out for a beer in DogTap Brisbane and you will likely hear Calvin McDonald foghorn east of Scotland accent before you see him. Watch closely at a peak shift in Las Vegas and you will see Blair quietly directing the shift the same way I saw him do when managing a bar in Glasgow. BrewDog changed the industry in its own little way, from being one of the first real living wage employers, to sharing profits with the teams on the ground. It tried to build it different and for a long time it worked. It challenged convention. It built culture (some loved it some didn’t). Most of all, it changed thousands of people’s lives, giving them opportunity, confidence, friendships and careers. In fact, there are some incredible lifelong friendships, marriages and even some beautiful little children running around this planet from teams who met each other in BrewDog bars. My focus and memories are on those people and the great times. The talent doesn’t disappear because a balance sheet changes. The passion doesn’t evaporate because policy shifts. The industry still needs you. But we also need an environment that backs business rather than burdens it. I hope the government sees this quickly before others are impacted. Lots of people have my number at BrewDog, my phone is on. If you are reading this WhatsApp me if I can help in any way. To everyone at BrewDog, you changed my life and filled it with great memories and life-long friends. Thank you.” BrewDog features in the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality, which is one of six databases exclusive to Premium Club subscribers. The latest edition features 1,430 companies. The companies, listed in alphabetical order, have their most recent developments reported as well as broader information around Ebitda, plans and trading style available. The database merges Companies House information, interviews and other public information to provide an easy to reference and exhaustive guide to the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Tilray CEO – ‘BrewDog needs some love, it needs some innovation’, looks to double UK production and to secure more pub relationships: Simon Irwin, chief executive of US firm Tilray Brands, the new owners of BrewDog, has said the company needs “some love, needs some innovation, and with that, I think we can easily get this business back to growth”. Tilray, which began life as a pureplay cannabis producer and is currently the fourth-largest craft beer brewer in the US, acquired BrewDog’s worldwide intellectual property, UK brewing operations and a portfolio of 11 “premier and profitable brewpubs” for £33m. Tilray is also in talks to acquire BrewDog’s businesses in Australia and the US. Irwin said Tilray plans to double production at BrewDog’s Ellon brewery by adding some of its US craft brands to the mix. First candidates are Shock Top, Montauk and SweetWater. He also said the business plans to grow BrewDog in its home market by shifting its UK business model (own pubs, some off-premise distribution) to mimic larger craft strategies in the US (ramp up off-premise, secure on-premise relationships with bars/pubs, secure venue placements for events and sports). He said BrewDog's owned-bar network will be pared down to about 13 sites, as he didn’t think the company's vast expansion on that front was “the right way to go”. Irwin said: “The transaction provides BrewDog with the operational expertise, capital and long-term stability needed to refocus the business and return the brand to sustainable and organic growth as we plan to invest additional working capital into the brand, into the business and into our people. BrewDog's Ellon Brewing facility currently produces 800,000 hectolitres annually and has the capacity up to 2.4 million. We have to double the capacity here. BrewDog has been built on bold ideas and innovation, strong quality standards and entrepreneurial spirit, which we will continue. This is not a brand requiring reinvention. It's a strong brand that will benefit from our expertise, operational execution and brand-building capabilities, working within the existing team and areas where Tilray has demonstrated success in the past.” Irwin said Tilray is “not here to corporatise BrewDog”. He said: “We're fully committed to making beer fun again like we've had with a lot of our other brands. To the equity punks, you've helped build this brand to what it is today. Your belief and support shape this brand. We respect your community. Our objective is to preserve what makes BrewDog different from what's strengthening the business model and what supports it in the long term.” Irwin said Rajnish Ohri, president of Tilray’s international arm will lead the BrewDog business “together with the BrewDog team”. 

BrewDog co-founder's rescue bid was backed by firm linked to TG Jones-owner: A rescue bid for BrewDog orchestrated by the company's co-founder, James Watt, involved financial backing from an affiliate of the investment firm that has presided over a string of high street insolvencies. Sky News reported that Watt lined up funding from Hay Wain, a family office that has close links to Modella Capital, about financing his offer to buy back the brewing and bars operator he helped establish nearly 20 years ago. Watt's bid is understood to have comprised at least £30m in cash, and handed BrewDog's retail investors – or “Equity Punks”, as they were known – 19.5% of the common equity of a new holding company. Under a £33m deal agreed between administrators and Tilray Brands, a US-based cannabis group, previous shareholders in BrewDog have been wiped out. Propel revealed in January that Watt, who co-founded BrewDog with Martin Dickie in 2007, was considering launching a bid to buy back the business. Watt's proposal, which is said to have been ruled out over the weekend, also contained a guarantee to retain all of the production jobs at BrewDog's brewery at Ellon in Aberdeenshire. He also pledged to protect at least 65% of the jobs at the company's UK bars. This week, Modella hired advisers to force through closures of dozens of high street stores it acquired from WH Smith and rebranded as TG Jones only last year. Hay Wain is the family office of Jamie Constable, one of the backers of Modella and a private equity investor through Rcapital, a former owner of Little Chef.