Just a week ago, BrewDog was reportedly looking to appoint advisers for a restructure of the company and explore a sale.
Now, Watt, the man who was the face of BrewDog before departing the CEO role in May 2024, is said to be putting £10m of his own money into the business and has assembled further financial backing from external investors for the group, according to Sky News.
Meanwhile, The Times has reported Watt is understood to have secured private equity backing for a deal that would retain some of the company’s pubs as well as its brewing base in Ellon, Scotland.
Second-round bids
Sky News added that suitors to purchase the business – via administration company AlixPartners – are being asked to table second-round offers for BrewDog after an initial round of bids last week.
There are some 220,000 shareholders in BrewDog in the form of its ‘Equity For Punks’ schemes, who committed around £400 each but will be unlikely to gain any financial returns.
During seven fundraising rounds, the company drew more than £75m from craft beer fans who received perks such as discounts, early access to new beers and invites to BrewDog’s ‘Annual General Mayhem’ shareholder meeting and beer festival.
BrewDog announced the sale of its Lost Forest in October last year, which was a drive towards greater sustainability and has planted more than 500,000 trees by the end of 2023 in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.
Fellow co-founder departed
A month before, BrewDog reported a pre-tax loss of almost £37m in its financial results following the departure of co-founder Martin Dickie in August 2025.
At the time, BrewDog CEO James Taylor said Dickie has made an “immeasurable” contribution to the company, adding: “His creativity, passion, and relentless drive have shaped our company over the years and inspired countless others in the industry.”
In July 2025, the business announced it was shutting 10 of its bars in the UK with its Aberdeen flagship site in Gallowgate being one of the victims.
BrewDog did not have any comment to make after being contacted by The Morning Advertiser.
