3 hours ago
4
PA Media
James Watt was 24 when he co-founded Brewdog in 2007
Brewdog co-founder James Watt has apologised to staff and investors and admitted he made "many mistakes" after hundreds of jobs were lost following the sale of the brewer and pub chain this week.
The company's brewery and 11 bars were bought by US firm Tilray for £33m after it went into administration on Monday - but 38 other pubs closed and 484 staff have been made redundant.
Unions, staff and investors have voiced anger at how the sale of the business was handled.
In a statement posted online, Watt said it had been an "incredibly hard" week and that he was "heartbroken" for those who had lost their jobs and invested in its Equity For Punks scheme.
Watt co-founded the company in Aberdeenshire with Martin Dickie in 2007.
At the height of its success Brewdog owned four breweries and about 100 pubs around the globe and was said to be worth more than $1bn.
Watt stood down as CEO in 2024 and Dickie left the company just over a year later.
Reuters
In his statement, which was posted on LinkedIn, Watt said he had "no idea what I was really doing" in the early days and that in hindsight he would have done things differently.
"At times we expanded too fast and diversified too broadly," he wrote.
The millionaire businessman said he did not control spending well enough at times, and had not responded to some of the crises faced by the business "in a way that was authentic and true to who I am".
He added: "During my 17 years in charge there were highs, lows, successes, failures, huge gambles and many mistakes along the way.
"Ultimately, the mistakes hurt far more than the successes console."
Watt said he "would have loved" to have saved every job and every equity punk investment.
He added: "Ultimately, I couldn't. That will stay with me."
"I am sorry that I was not able to repay the faith you bestowed in me with the outcome you all deserved," he added.
"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."
Unions have expressed anger at the way hundreds of Brewdog staff were told they had lost their jobs during a 15-minute conference call with chief executive James Taylor.
Bryan Simpson, hospitality organiser with the Unite union, said the workforce were only given 25 minutes' notice and were not able to ask questions.
"I've been representing bar workers for over a decade and it is the worst mass redundancy I have dealt with, including during the pandemic," he told BBC Scotland News.
The firm appointed as Brewdog's administrators, AlixPartners, acknowledged it was an "extremely challenging" time for staff.
A statement said: "We are in direct contact with all those affected by the closures and are providing specialist outside support such that people can claim their statutory entitlements as quickly as possible.
"Additionally, we are in discussion with several of the UK's leading hospitality providers about vacancies elsewhere in the industry and will be making these details available to help former BrewDog employees secure new employment."
Meanwhile, AlixPartners previously said that equity holders - including those who invested in the firm's Equity for Punks scheme - would see no return from the deal.
That fundraising scheme, launched in 2009, was said to have raised £75m before it closed to new investors in 2021.
US equity firm TSG Consumer Partners acquired a 22% stake in Brewdog in 2017, and was given "preference shares" over Equity for Punks shareholders.
That meant TSG would get its money back first in the event of a sale.
In an email to investors on Monday, the new owners said they wanted those in the Equity for Punks scheme to continue as "ambassadors for the brand".
One investor, Richard Fisher, said he had written off his £12,000 stake in Brewdog and was left frustrated by what has happened.
"There's nothing for us. It's being sold at a knock-down price.
"But I never thought there was going to be anything left over for the Equity for Punks anyway," he said.
The revealing responses to Watt's statement
James Watt was the man behind Brewdog's punk brand and rebel outsider image, but he's chosen to post this "mea culpa" on the uber-corporate social network, LinkedIn, writes news correspondent David Henderson.
Three times over he says he's "heartbroken" - about the loss of hundreds of jobs; the investment wipe-out for the Equity Punks who bought Brewdog shares; and the fact the company he built went bust.
On LinkedIn, replies tend to be cautious and diplomatic - so the candour of some responses is revealing.
One is from a self-confessed Equity Punk, who looks set to lose the money he invested in Brewdog. He tells Watt: "Over time your culture soured and not for the better. You became hubristic."
Another asks: "Are you heartbroken you gave the institutional investor preference over the equity punks, James? An arrangement that ensured we received no return on our investments."
Watt says "the mistakes hurt far more than the successes console".
But since his stake in Brewdog netted him tens of millions of pounds, it is likely that others will be hurting more acutely in the aftermath of this week's events.
