BrewDog extends Equity for Punks Five after hitting £10m crowdfunding goal
The brewery passed the milestone at around lunchtime on Friday (12 January) and has now raised in excess of £11m from the fifth round of its record breaking initiative.
The total amount raised by BrewDog from crowdfunding to date now stands at over £52m, while the brewery now has nearly 70,000 ‘Equity Punks’ that have invested in the company.
As a result of ongoing demand, and an influx of requests for additional time to invest, BrewDog has confirmed it will be keeping the investment opportunity open until 15 October 2018, or until the maximum potential raise of £50million is reached.
'Insane' demand
BrewDog cofounder James Watt said: “The continued demand for Equity for Punks demonstrates the passion people share for our mission, our values and our beer. It’s insane to see more than 20,000 people buy a piece of our business, and with interest still proving higher than we anticipated, we have decided to extend the opportunity to invest in our company until October.
"Our success over the past decade is down to our engaged, passionate community of evangelistic Equity Punks – they are the lifeblood of our business, and the incredible groundswell of demand for this latest round of crowdfunding proves we’re not even close to slowing down any time soon.”
It is thought that the brewery will now press ahead with its core three aims of building a new brewhouse at its Aberdeenshire base, adding new infrastructure to cope with expanding production, and building a new sour beer facility.
It is not yet clear, however, whether enough funds have been secured for the company to press on with the construction of new breweries in Australia and Asia, which are expected to cost an additional £15m.
Australian and Asian markets targeted
In an interview with The Morning Advertiser in October 2017, BrewDog co-founder James Watt said that the Australian and Asian markets were a key priority for the business, as it seeks to become the largest craft brewery in the world.
"China is very key for us. It is our biggest export market at the moment,” he said. “We've sold about 20,000hl in China this year. We are struggling to keep up with the demand, and it is really difficult to service that market from Scotland. We see a lot of long-term potential in China for craft beer and we want to be part of that movement."
Watt added: “Australia is another really good market for us. We want to invest and build a really good brewery so that we can get beer into people's hands that is much more friendly for the environment and at a much lower cost."
Last week, BrewDog announced it would be taking over the former Ape & Bird pub at 142 Shaftesbury Avenue, central London, after Venetian-inspired restaurant group Polpo closed its doors following four years in operation.
The three-floor site in Cambridge Circus overlooking the Palace Theatre will reopen as BrewDog Seven Dials before the end of February, and will feature two bars spread over different floors, serving 20 craft beers from its own and both domestic and international guest breweries on tap.
