Brewdog founder James Watt announces new beer brand with shares going to old investors

Brewdog founder James Watt has announced plans to launch a new beer company and give free shares to investors who lost money on his original venture.

Watt co-founded the self-styled “punk” beer brand with Martin Dickie in 2007.

He stepped down as chief executive in 2024 after a series of controversies, including allegations of inappropriate behaviour and abuse of power by former employees.

Brewdog collapsed with debts of over £500m and was sold to an American brewing and cannabis firm for £33m earlier this year.

Nearly 500 jobs were lost and 38 bars shut after the rescue deal was agreed with Tilray.

Watt is now set to launch a new beer company called Second Best and says he will allocate nearly 20% of shares to the “equity punks” whose investments in Brewdog were wiped out when the company was sold.

Brewdog created “Equity for Punks” as an in-house crowdfunding scheme which promised beer enthusiasts the chance to “own a slice of brewery and share in its success and growth”.

The scheme is believed to have raised more than £75m between 2009 and 2021, enabling Brewdog to expand into international markets.

Announcing his new venture on social media, Watt explained: “Thousands of people trusted me to build a brilliant beer business and create value for them.

“It was an obligation I took very seriously. And I, for one, am not done with that obligation.”

He went on to outline plans to allocate up to 19.3% of the company to former investors, claiming they would be able to “claim the exact same stake” they held at Brewdog “for free”.

He added: “No catches, no cash required, and your equity in Second Best will always rank alongside my own.

“You’ll own it. I’ll fund it. And I’ll dedicate myself to building it. You’re not shareholders this time. You’re second founders.”

A launch date has not yet been confirmed while the company seeks relevant licenses and legal consents, but Watt said the company will launch an “alcohol adjacent concept”.

Watt added that the company will be built “from the ground up” and that he is “determined to build a world-class beer business that we all collectively own”.