BrewDog launches £25m crowdfunding bid

By Arabella Mileham, Erin Smith

Published: 23 April, 2015

BrewDog, Scotland's largest independent brewery, yesterday launched its biggest crowdfunding scheme to date.

The self-styled "maverick" company is selling 526, 316 shares in an effort to raise £25m to further expand its business.

The brewery has successfully used its Equity-for-Punks scheme in the past to sell shares and use the money to reinvest and expand the business.

Not turning to more traditional sources for funding from large financial instutitions was a choice the founders James Watt and Martin Dickie opted for since the beginning of the company.

"We are not Rockefeller. We are Guy Fawkes. We are burning the established system - the status quo - down to the ground and forging a new future for business from the flames. We are putting the fat cats out to pasture and empowering everyone to be masters of their own destiny by investing in our passion for craft beer" said James Watt, BrewDog co-founder.

The newest round of investments raised will be used to expand the BrewDog Brewery, continue to expand its BrewDog bar division with domestically and internationally, launch a craft beer hotel, develop a customer sour beer facility and built a distillation plant.

Earlier this month the company reported its sixth consectuive year of record growth, which saw turnover increase 64% to hit £29.6m for 2014. The company forecast the for 2015 turnover will exceed £50m.

Launched in 2007, the company has raised more than £6.5m through its Equity for Punks scheme and now has more than 14,500 shareholders. Its June 2013 crowdfunding bid raised £1m in one day.

Last year the company opened 12 bars in the UK and across Europe, with its 26th site opening in Spain in February 2015.