BrewDog co-founder James Watt has said he is “heartbroken” for former staff and ‘equity punk’ shareholders, after the brewer was sold in a pre-packaged administration to US fmcg group Tilray Brands.
Breaking his silence after failing with a last-ditch rescue bid for the business, the former BrewDog CEO added he was “heartbroken to have dedicated the best 20 years of my life to something that ultimately did not have the ending we all wished for”.
However, he admitted that the company had “expanded too fast and diversified too broadly” under his leadership, leading to the stretched finances that ultimately dictated its cut-price sale to Tilray this week.
Read more: Who is BrewDog’s new owner Tilray Brands and can it revive the ailing brewer’s fortunes?
“I am heartbroken for all of the hard-working and passionate team members who have lost their jobs,” Watt wrote on LinkedIn. “I am heartbroken for all of our brilliant equity punks who did not get the return on their investment they wanted. And heartbroken to have dedicated the best 20 years of my life to something that ultimately did not have the ending we all wished for.
“I put my heart, my soul and every ounce of energy into building BrewDog as CEO from inception until early 2024 as we grew from a garage to the world’s leading independent beer brand. We employed thousands and challenged an entire industry.”
Watt stopped short of admitting the sale of a 22% stake in BrewDog to private equity firm TSG in 2017 was a mistake, but said the success enjoyed by BrewDog in its early days changed the way it was perceived
He said: “As the business grew exponentially, our very public success definitely changed things: it changed how people saw us, it changed how people interacted with us, it changed how the media portrayed us, and perhaps, on some levels it changed us too.
“When an underdog strategy works so well that people perceive you as the incumbent, that strategy breaks down, and I should have recognised that earlier.
“With the benefit of hindsight there are also so many other things I would have done differently. At times we expanded too fast and diversified too broadly. During certain periods I did not control spend well enough across the business and furthermore I feel that I did not respond to certain crises that we faced (and we faced many) in a way that was authentic and true to who I am. Those decisions sit with me.”
Mass redundancies addressed
Following the sale of BrewDog to Tilray Brands, 38 of BrewDog’s bars in the UK and Ireland have closed with immediate effect, with 484 staff being made redundant. Meanwhile, the shares of BrewDog’s legion of more than 200,000 retail investors have been wiped out.
According to Unite union, staff were given a warning of just 25 minutes ahead of a conference call on Monday (2 March) in which they were told they were losing their jobs.
Addressing now ex-‘equity punk’ and former BrewDog staff, Watt said: “I would have loved to save every single job and every single equity punk investment. Ultimately, I couldn’t. That will stay with me.
“To our team members leaving this week: thank you. You helped build something that mattered. I am sorry we could not protect you. To our equity punks: thank you for having the conviction to believe in the business when this was just two humans, one dog and a crazy idea.
“It was an honour and a privilege to dedicate my life to trying to build something truly amazing for all of our fantastic team members and everyone involved. I am sorry that I was not able to repay the faith you bestowed in me with the outcome you all deserved.
“I still love the business. It will always feel like an intrinsic part of me. I will always be cheering it on from the sidelines, even if the next chapter is now going to be written by others.”
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