<div id="readability-page-1" class="page"><div><div><p>BrewDog must move on from its controversial founder James Watt to regain success, the company’s new US owner has said.</p><p>Irwin Simon, the chief executive of Tilray Brands, said Watt was a “stigma” for the brand as the American tycoon laid out ambitious plans to revive the company after a £33m rescue deal.</p><p>Watt, the driving force behind BrewDog’s success, launched a failed bid to buy back BrewDog before Tilray swept in to clinch the deal last month. He had stepped down as chief executive two years ago amid claims of a “toxic” workplace culture.</p><p>But Simon told The Telegraph that Watt’s reputation was “a stigma we have to overcome” as he vowed not to repeat the media stunts associated with the brand’s rise to prominence.</p><p>“I haven’t spoken to James Watt,” he said. “We don’t need James Watt, because if James Watt were ever to come back here – and I’m being very clear, he’s not – what happens is this becomes about James Watt’s second and third act.”</p><p>Tilray’s takeover marked the end of a torrid five years for BrewDog, and an astounding collapse in value for a business that once boasted a £2bn price tag.</p><p>Founded in 2007 by Watt and Martin Dickie, BrewDog rode the wave of enthusiasm for craft beer and operated more than 120 bars across 57 countries at its peak, fuelled by an “equity punks” scheme which saw drinkers plough money into the company.</p><p>Watt’s controversial media stunts and outspoken criticism of global beer companies helped push the brand to its multibillion-pound valuation.</p><p>But a backlash ensued after Watt was hit by allegations of a “toxic” workplace culture in 2021 and BrewDog’s abandonment of the Real Living Wage in 2024. At the time, Watt apologised and said the focus of the company was “not on contradicting or contesting the details of that letter, but to listen, learn and act”.</p></div></div><div><div><p>The 43-year-old has remained in the public eye primarily through social media, where videos of him and his wife, Made In Chelsea star Georgia “Toff” Toffolo, are regularly mocked.</p><p>Watt’s shadow still looms large over the company and Simon now has the task of rehabilitating the brand, which he says is “not as cool as it used to be”.</p><p>“I’ve heard multiple stories [about Watt],” said Simon. “But it’s not us. It’s not my DNA, it’s not our doing. It’s a stigma that’s attached to it but it’s a stigma we have to overcome.”</p><p>Bars local to the company’s Aberdeen headquarters are known to purposefully reject stocking BrewDog, which Simon is keen to reverse.</p><h2>Stocking rival brands</h2><p>“You’ve got to go in there and say, ‘Here’s what consumers want, here’s what we have and here’s why it’s different,’” he says. “A lot of the pubs got rid of BrewDog because of the noise and the PR around the brand – and it’s not because the beer was not good.”</p><p>BrewDog’s early days were characterised by guerrilla PR tactics, including Watt driving a tank around the City of London to promote the equity punks scheme.</p><p>Watt regularly taunted global beer giants and smaller traditional ale brewers alike – a strategy that played well until public opinion of him soured.</p><p>“I promise you I will not be doing any of these media stunts,” Simon said. “I will not be doing any of the stunts that James did. I will not be driving around in a tank – especially in today’s day and age.”</p></div></div><div><div><p>Simon now has a blueprint to revive the BrewDog venture. He first plans to drive customers back to BrewDog’s pubs by stocking his competitors’ beers. A franchised model for future pub openings is also on the cards.</p><p>“I’d bring Guinness in here. I’d bring Carlsberg in here, because if a consumer wants that product and I want the business in this brew-pub, I want to get bums on seats. And if they’re not going to buy our beer, they’ll buy our food,” he says.</p><p>“If you look at McDonald’s or other franchisees, they’ve opened multiple franchises and brought in good operators. And I’ll tell you this: the calls I’ve had so far on franchising are tremendous.”</p><p>The rapid rise and fall of BrewDog is one of the most spectacular boom and busts in recent corporate history.</p><p>Its rise was fuelled by a novel crowdfunding scheme, known as “equity punks”, which offered customers perks like discounted beers and invitations to the company’s events in London and Aberdeen if they bought shares.</p><p>One of those share sales valued the company at £2bn, making it the most valuable craft beer business in Britain.</p><p>But after years of railing against big beer, Watt sold a significant stake in BrewDog to TSG Consumer Goods, a private equity firm.</p><p>The deal saw TSG plough £213m into BrewDog and Watt was reported to have made £50m from the deal.</p><p>Much of TSG’s cash was spent on ill-fated ideas, such as a forest rewilding project and a whisky distillery.</p><p>BrewDog collapsed under its debts this year with insolvency experts AlixPartners called in to handle the administration. TSG walked away empty-handed from the Tilray sale, as did the equity punks.</p><p>For Simon, the decline of BrewDog is a familiar tale for ventures backed by private equity.</p><h2>‘There’s a tax on everything here’</h2><p>“What happened is what happens multiple times – private equity comes in and wants to ultimately build a business and sell it,” he said. “Then there’s a collision course with the founders and a lot of times founders aren’t equipped to deal with the growth that’s in place.”</p><p>“There was probably way too much money thrown at the founders and thrown at this business. It’s good for me because I got incredible value for it – and sometimes other people’s miseries are other people’s gains.”</p><p>In the weeks since the sale, Simon has busied himself buying up what remains of BrewDog’s international footprint, including breweries in Australia and the US.</p><p>He expressed doubts over whether BrewDog’s international expansion was a smart move because of how it strained the company’s finances.</p><p>“Just stepping back, the amount of money that was spent on certain decisions – I wouldn’t have done that,” he says.</p><p>Simon’s takeover comes at a crossroads for the pub sector, which is buckling under the weight of soaring costs.</p></div></div><div><div><p>Sir Tim Martin, JD Wetherspoon’s founder, warned on Friday that rising labour and energy costs had dented the pub chain’s profits by £47m – £9m of which was because of an increase in business rates.</p><p>The Telegraph has been campaigning for the Government to reduce the cost burden on the sector by cutting taxes and slashing red tape.</p><p>“There’s a tax on everything here,” said Simon, while admitting he was unfamiliar with the specifics of rising National Insurance Contributions and business rates.</p><p>“Politicians have a tendency to over-tax and it will put pubs out of business which would be horrible for London.”</p><p>War in the Middle East has publicans spooked about a spike in energy bills. “But when these things happen, we watch our pocketbook but bad times bring people together to drown our sorrows and to talk about it,” Simon said.</p><p>In response to Simon’s claims, Watt said he was “really disappointed” that Tilray’s takeover did not repay the equity punks who had propelled the brand’s success.</p><p>“For me, there is no BrewDog fightback without taking the community with us, without ensuring all team shares are honoured and without reinstating the real living wage,” he said.</p></div></div></div>

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<p>BrewDog's new US owner, Irwin Simon of Tilray Brands, emphasizes the need to move past the controversial founder James Watt to restore the brand's reputation. Following a £33m rescue deal, Simon aims to revitalize BrewDog by avoiding Watt's media stunts and focusing on customer preferences, including stocking competitor beers. BrewDog's decline followed allegations of a toxic workplace culture and a significant drop in value from its peak of £2bn. Simon's strategy includes a franchised model for future pub openings and a commitment to improving the brand's image.</p>

BrewDog’s new owner: We must overcome ‘stigma’ of James Watt