Millionaire BrewDog founder James Watt says he’s ‘heartbroken’ after dozens of bars close and hundreds of jobs are lost following £33million sale

BrewDog co-founder James Watt said he was ‘heartbroken’ after his firm was sold for just £33 million this week, leaving almost 500 people out of work.

The Scottish brewery, valued at £2bn just a few years ago, was sold for a rock-bottom price to US cannabis and drinks firm Tilray earlier this week.

A total of 38 pubs in England were closed on Monday, with chief executive James Taylor telling 484 staff on a conference call that they were no longer employed.

Shares held by 220,000 “share vagrants” who invested around £75 million in the company over seven funding rounds are now effectively worthless.

Mr Watt, a self-described ‘punk’ and multimillionaire, expressed his sadness at the company’s collapse in a post shared across various social media channels. However, it failed to impress some observers.

Describing the past week as ‘incredibly difficult’, she wrote: ‘I am heartbroken for all the hard-working and passionate team members who have lost their jobs.

‘I’m heartbroken for all our brilliant capital bums who didn’t get the return on investment they wanted.

‘And I’m heartbroken that I devoted the best 20 years of my life to something that didn’t end the way we all wished.’

James Watt got engaged to Georgia Toffolo in 2024, shortly after leaving BrewDog due to allegations of inappropriate behavior.

A BrewDog pub in Cambridge Circus in Soho – among 38 pubs to close with immediate effect

Mr Watt, who steps down as CEO in 2024 amid allegations of a toxic culture at BrewDog, said he would ‘love to save every job and every capital rogue investment’ but ‘can’t do it’, adding: ‘That’ll stay with me.’

He added that ‘with the benefit of hindsight’ the firm had grown too quickly and diversified too widely and had not responded to PR crises in a way that was ‘genuine and true to who I am’.

He signed the post and said, ‘I am sorry that I could not repay you for the faith you gave me with the result you all deserve.’

Observers on social media responded with both well-wishes and sarcasm; He pointed out that Watt and co-founder Martin Dickie split the reported £100 million salary by selling 22 per cent of the company to US investment firm TSG Partners.

The deal, made in 2017, gave TSG “preference” shares that gave it the right to receive a return on its investments if the company was sold; these stocks are now trading above and beyond other investors, including so-called “share bums” who are unlikely to get any money back.

‘Are you ‘heartbroken’ for giving preference to institutional investors over capital hooligans James? A regulation that ensures we get no return on our investments,” one commenter wrote under Mr Watt’s LinkedIn post.

“Sitting in your penthouse overlooking Blackfriars I am sure you have plenty of sympathy for those out of work and without bills to pay,” wrote one follower on Instagram, where Mr Watt limits who can comment.

Others were more positive.

“Haters will always hate, but there’s no doubt Brewdog is at the heart of the UK’s resurgent craft beer culture right now,” one fan said on Instagram.

‘As a capital vagabond myself, I am happy to say that I am part of this revolution and I am very pleased with the non-financial return on this investment.’

An email sent to investors this week and seen by the Daily Mail thanked amateur investors for their contributions and said they would continue to enjoy benefits such as discounts, including an additional discount for those with BrewDog tattoos.

“We know you will have questions and ask for your patience as we focus on supporting our employees and stabilizing the business,” the email said. The statement was included.

Its new owner, Tilray Brands, euphemistically described in the email as a ‘leading global lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company,’ has several owners. medical and consumer cannabis brands in the United States, as well as other alcohol businesses.

Watt, who is married to Made In Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo, had tried to put £10 million of his own cash into the firm as part of a rescue deal that ultimately failed.

Around 733 staff were retained in the sale, including operations staff and those working in the 11 franchised pubs.

However, those who were dismissed were informed. BBCmaking a claim for lost wages through the Insolvency Service after the firm has been placed into administration, placing the burden of collecting the bill on the public purse.

They were given little information about the conference call that saw them sacked, which has been compared to a mass layoff by P&O Ferries in 2022.

Bryan Simpson, chief organizer of Unite’s hospitality branch, described the behavior of BrewDog management as ‘nothing short of a national disgrace’.

He told the Mail: “This bears all the hallmarks of the scandal at P&O Ferries… It is a disgrace that lessons have clearly not been learned across corporate Britain.”

‘A company does not lose 97 percent of its value in nine years without catastrophic mismanagement.’

He added that the union had demanded a response from appointed administrator AlixPartners about unpaid wages.

Ordinary BrewDog investors, known as ‘share bums’, are unlikely to make any return on their investment following the sell-off

James Brown, former chief executive of BrewDog’s pubs division, said the Government should take some responsibility for BrewDog’s woes after increasing National Insurance.

He wrote on LinkedIn: ‘For years the government’s policy on rates and employment taxes has steadily eroded confidence in hospitality.

‘BrewDog’s nearly 20 years of leadership could never have foreseen the post-Brexit, post-Covid world and the tax, costs and administrative burdens businesses face today.’

BrewDog has grown from a small brewing business founded by Watt and Dickie in 2007 to the world’s leading craft beer brand, reaching its peak in the late 2010s.

However, it has been plagued over the years by a series of public relations blunders and allegations of a toxic work culture and inappropriate behavior by Mr Watt, who has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

In 2022, a BBC documentary claimed he kissed a drunk customer and that female staff were given advice on bar visits on how to avoid his unwanted attention.

Mr Watt later apologized for making anyone feel ‘uncomfortable’ but approached regulator Ofcom to dispute the programme’s claims. He did not confirm any of their complaints.

BrewDog has weathered PR storms over the years, facing allegations that it has abandoned its original DIY ‘punk’ ethos and become one of the corporate juggernauts it deeply resents.

The BBC reported in 2022 that Mr Watt once bought a £500,000 stake in Dutch brewery Heineken during takeover talks; he also invested £2 million in an offshore hedge fund.

BrewDog itself has also reduced the ‘real’ living wage in 2024. It has also been criticized for recent closures and layoffs and repeatedly questioned for its environmental claims.

The ‘Lost Forest’, a 10,000-acre tract of woodland in the Scottish Highlands, was sold after trees BrewDog planted to offset carbon emissions died or failed to take root.

BrewDog’s international future is uncertain. It has four breweries: its headquarters are in Ellon, Aberdeenshire; Columbus, Ohio in the USA; Brisbane, Australia; and Berlin in Germany.

It told investors this week that its international operations were being ‘reviewed’. However, Berliner Morgenpost reported that the German arm of the business is likely to be liquidated. It closed a Berlin bar last month.

BrewDog co-founder Martin Dickie resigned in 2025, citing personal reasons.

Mr Watt has since co-founded his new business, Social Tip, which promises influencer-style payouts to people who promote brands on social media.

It has paid out £500,000 to its 100,000 users since its launch last year; this is equivalent to £5 per user.