BrewDog Co-Founder Eyes Return with £10m Buyout Push

James Watt, the entrepreneur who built BrewDog into one of Britain’s most recognisable craft beer brands, is understood to be mounting a bid to retake control of the business, committing £10 million of his personal fortune to a potential acquisition.

Sources familiar with the situation indicate that Watt is working to assemble a consortium of outside investors with the aim of acquiring BrewDog’s bar estate, brand portfolio and brewing operations as a single package. It is understood that an initial round of indicative bids was submitted early last week as advisers pressed ahead with efforts to secure a swift transaction for the embattled brewer.

Watt, who departed BrewDog in 2024 following 17 years as its driving force, is reported to have attracted private equity support for a proposal that would encompass a portion of the pub estate alongside the company’s production facility in Ellon, Scotland.

Under terms currently being discussed, retail investors — who collectively hold around a fifth of the business — may retain a stake in any restructured entity, with Watt understood to be seeking to hold approximately half the company and his financial backers the remainder. Those close to the process have cautioned, however, that no transaction is guaranteed.

The bid comes at a critical juncture for BrewDog. The Aberdeenshire-headquartered brewer, best known for its Punk IPA and Hazy Jane brands, recorded a pre-tax loss of £37 million in 2024 — its fifth consecutive year in the red. In July of that year, the company closed ten UK bars, including its Aberdeen flagship site, as it sought to reduce its operational footprint.

Job cuts followed in the autumn, with chief executive James Taylor informing staff that it had become necessary to restructure headcount in response to what he described as a “tough and fast-changing market.”

BrewDog’s appointment of restructuring specialists AlixPartners to manage a formal sale process was confirmed last week, signalling the seriousness of the company’s financial position. While several international brewing groups are thought to have expressed interest in the brewery and brand assets, the future of the bars business is considered less straightforward to resolve.

BrewDog was founded in 2007 by Watt and Martin Dickie, who also departed the company last year citing personal reasons. Both men remain significant shareholders. US private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners holds a 21% stake, having invested £213 million in the business in April 2017.

The prospect of Watt reasserting control will be closely watched across the licensed on-trade, given BrewDog’s outsized influence on the UK craft beer sector over the past two decades. Whether the co-founder can secure the backing and terms needed to complete a deal remains to be seen.