New Brewdog owner mounts comeback from ‘horrible’ collapse
The new owner of Brewdog has launched a comeback for the company after it collapsed earlier this year, blaming “horrible” sales during its change of ownership on “negative” media reports.
The craft beer firm saw sales slump by as much as 20 per cent year on year following its takeover by US cannabis and drinks maker Tilray, chief executive Irwin Simon said.
Tilray’s takeover of Brewdog for just £33m in March marked the end of a dramatic downfall for the company, which had kickstarted the country’s craft beer obsession and was once valued at as much as £1bn.
“Our numbers were horrible because of the lead-up, the negative news out there, the thinking that Brewdog was going out of business,” Simon told reporters.
The firm’s sales are still lower than this time last year, but Simon said the company has seen a “steady” improvement in its takings since its acquisition.
The boss of Brewdog’s new owner told City AM: “I don’t think everybody totally understood what administration was. It was in the news [that] all the brew pubs closed.
“We had to open them sporadically to get inventories, to get staff on payroll, and to bring these pubs back. At the same time, we lost consumers and with [the] negative press, consumers stayed away from Brewdog.”
Brewdog, made famous for its Punk IPA and Elvis Juice beer, is set to unveil 11 new products as part of its reset, including a hazelnut-flavoured stout, a raspberry ripple IPA and a raspberry doughnut stout.
Tilray’s purchase of Brewdog included its brand, intellectual property and 11 of its UK pubs, while the rest of the firm fell into administration. This caused the immediate closure of 38 bars, costing 484 jobs.
Simon said: “There was press out there that was not helpful, was not meaningful. But we put our heads down, and we wanted to make sure we invested in the brand.”
Tilray has made a raft of appointments to Brewdog’s top team in recent days, which the company says hails a “new exciting chapter” for the brewer.
‘We don’t want to be arrogant’
The company has hired a new marketing director to lead Brewdog’s new ‘Choose Craft’ campaign and a managing director of bars and hospitality who will be tasked with boosting sales at the firm’s bar estate.
Brewdog was co-founded by school friends James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2007 and later rocketed to fame with the help of its “equity punks” – everyday investors who bought small shares in the company in exchange for beer-related perks.
Last week, Brewdog launched a multi-million pound campaign which attempted to raise awareness of its new ownership by taking a swipe at Watt and Dickie.
Tilray’s ownership of the company would feature “a little less allegation,” the ad campaign said, referring to claims in 2021 of a “toxic” culture at the firm under Watt and Dickie’s leadership.
Watt apologised for his “mistakes” and launched an independent review into the business. He later stepped down as chief executive in 2024. Dickie left the business in August last year.
The firm’s sales have risen year on year in the week since the new campaign launched, it is understood. Tilray’s Simon said he launched Brewdog’s new campaign in an attempt not to “sweep it underneath the rug”.
“One of the things we tried to make sure we did with that is not come across arrogant. Nothing in the past was us, but we recognise the past. We want to put it out there.”