BrewDog founder James Watt has announced his return to the drinks industry with the launch of a new beer brand called Second Best.
Watt, who set up BrewDog in 2007 alongside Martin Dickie, said he would give away shares in the new business retail investors wiped out by BrewDog’s pre-pack sale to Tilray Brands earlier this year.
“Today I am starting a new beer business and if you were an Equity Punk investor I am giving you the exact same stake you once had in BrewDog in the new beer business for free,” Watt said on social media. “Thousands of people trusted me to build a brilliant beer business and create value for them. It was an obligation I took very seriously. And I, for one, am not done with that obligation.”
The sale of BrewDog to Tilray in March resulted in Watt losing his circa 22% stake in the business, with the shares owned by around 200,000 Equity Punks, who helped fund the Aberdeen-based brewer’s early growth to the tune of £75m, also rendered worthless.
Watt had attempted to buy back BrewDog after the business was put up for sale by restructuring firm AlixPartners in February but was ultimately unsuccessful.
The former Atlantic fisherman said he was “heartbroken” for former shareholders and staff after the sale – which resulted in almost 500 redundancies.
“If you were an Equity Punk investor, I am planning to allocate up to 19.3% of Second Best for you,” Watt continued. “You can claim the exact stake you once held in BrewDog, for free.
“You are not shareholders this time. You’re second founders.”
An exact launch date for the new venture was not given by Watt, although he said the brand would enter the market as soon as it had “all the relevant licensed and legal consents in place”.
“Because that might take some time, we are initially launching a really interesting alcohol adjacent concept (more on this soon),” he added.
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