<p>它将英国的精酿啤酒带入了全球市场。它依靠小型、忠诚的私人投资者来推动其增长。同时，它也在动摇大型啤酒公司的舒适寡头垄断。回顾几年前，BrewDog 是过去 20 年中从英国崛起的最聪明的公司之一。</p>
<p>现在它被挂牌出售，容易将其失败归咎于财政大臣和对酒吧及酿酒厂造成重创的惩罚性税收。</p>
<p>然而实际上，BrewDog 是自我毁灭的作者。从有毒的工作文化到贪婪的短期财务工程，它毁掉了自己——可悲的是，另一家有前途的英国公司未能将自己转变为全球业务。</p>
<p>表面上看，BrewDog 似乎是 Rachel Reeves 不懈决心的又一受害者，她试图对长期受苦的酒吧征收尽可能多的税，以及在经济停滞的情况下，人们难以承担一杯啤酒的价格，更不用说外出就餐了。</p>
<p>在挂牌出售时，这家酿酒和酒吧连锁公司将其困境归咎于 “具有挑战性的经济环境”，以及对酒精和酒吧征收的额外税收所造成的 “逆风”。</p>
<p>在过去几年中，BrewDog 亏损不断，去年在销售 3.57 亿英镑的情况下，亏损高达 3700 万英镑，现在公司已任命重组专家 Alix Partners 来帮助寻找解决方案。</p>
<p>它几乎肯定会被整体或分拆出售。过去 20 年中最耀眼的英国初创公司之一将要么完全消失，要么融入某个平淡无奇的大型酿酒商。</p>
<p>这真是一个巨大的失望。BrewDog 由 James Watt 和 Martin Dickie 于 2007 年创立，至少在头十年里，它是英国企业家精神的典范。它乘着精酿啤酒的热潮，通过巧妙的社交媒体为自己赢得了大量免费宣传，并利用众筹来融资扩张，而不是依赖银行或股市。</p>
<p>它大胆而前卫，某些噱头可能有些让人尴尬，但它也充满新鲜感、创新性和活力。像 Elvis Juice 和 Punk IPA 这样的啤酒是别具一格的。</p>
<p>它的热情支持者，确实包括许多投入资金的所谓 “股权朋克”，可能希望它能成为 AB InBev、喜力和卡尔斯堡等公司的挑战者。</p>
<p>但现在，这一切看起来都将化为泡影。Watt 已经离开公司，它正在亏损，而其私募股权股东 TSG Capital 实际上已经要求出售它。</p>
<p>存在两个大问题。关于有毒工作文化的指控，员工抱怨工作时间过长和性别歧视，这些都对公司提出了指控。</p>
<p>在此之后，Watt 和他的联合创始人都离开了公司。这是重要的。如果你要成为挑战现状的精明企业家，就需要让员工和客户支持你。他们将始终是你品牌最忠诚的倡导者。</p>
<p>无论对 Watts 和其他管理层的指控是对是错，这些争吵都损害了品牌。BrewDog 开始变成了另一个无脸的企业酿酒商。</p>
<p>更严重的是与 TSG 签署的交易性质。该公司在 2017 年向业务注入了 2.13 亿英镑，以换取 21% 的股份。</p>
<p>在一项非常不寻常的交易中，该公司坚持要求一项条款，保证其投资的复合年回报率为 18%。可以说，这笔钱即使在私募股权的标准下也是昂贵的。</p>
<p>当然，这让创始人成为百万富翁，避免了上市，但最终导致公司积累了超过 8 亿英镑的债务，这在其核心英国市场停滞的情况下几乎是一个不可能承受的负担。</p>
<p>那些本应得到更好待遇的 “股权朋克” 可能会在公司被出售时被抛弃，如果酒吧和酿酒厂不得不关闭或缩减，员工也会如此。</p>
<p>一个本应以不同方式运作的公司，最终像许多有前途的初创公司一样，成为了过度炒作和复杂财务工程的受害者。</p>
<p>与此同时，Watts 正在忙于将自己打造成创业导师，计划制作自己的《龙的巢穴》风格的真人秀节目。在精力、活力和胆略方面，他有很多东西可以教人，公平地说，这些都是创办公司的重要品质。</p>
<p>但你还需要一个长期愿景和决心去打持久战。最终，BrewDog 是私募股权行业和创始人贪婪的受害者，他们似乎更关心快速致富，而不是耐心地建立一家大公司。</p>
<p>英国在酿酒方面有着丰富的传统。精酿酿酒商正在为新世纪重新定义这一传统。BrewDog 是这一繁荣中崭露头角的最耀眼明星。</p>
<p>在短暂的时刻，它有机会将自己转变为一个主要的新全球品牌。如果从它可能的灭亡中有一个教训，那就是作为一个国家，我们仍然有能力培养出优秀的企业家。然而，正如往常一样，将其转化为持久的成功似乎是不可能的——直到这一点开始改变，英国将不会产生应有的许多重大新公司。</p>

BRBL

波士顿啤酒

EATZ

食品饮料 ETF - PowerShares

<p>BrewDog 曾是一家领先的英国精酿啤酒公司，因不断增加的亏损和有毒的工作文化面临潜在出售。该公司成立于 2007 年，依靠创新和众筹蓬勃发展，但目前却面临着 8 亿英镑的债务负担和性别歧视的指控。公司将其困境归咎于严峻的经济环境和增加的税收。联合创始人詹姆斯·瓦特（James Watt）和马丁·迪基（Martin Dickie）已离开，BrewDog 的未来悬而未决，面临失去其独特品牌身份和忠实支持者的风险</p>

<p>It took British craft beers into the global market. It relied on small, committed, private investors to fuel its growth. And it was shaking up the cosy oligopoly of big beer. Rewind just a few years and BrewDog was one of the smartest companies to emerge from Britain over the last 20 years.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它将英国的精酿啤酒带入了全球市场。它依靠小型、忠诚的私人投资者来推动其增长。同时，它也在动摇大型啤酒公司的舒适寡头垄断。回顾几年前，BrewDog 是过去 20 年中从英国崛起的最聪明的公司之一。</p>
</div><p>Now that it has been put up for sale, it would be easy to blame the Chancellor and the punishing tax rises that have hammered pubs and breweries for its downfall.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>现在它被挂牌出售，容易将其失败归咎于财政大臣和对酒吧及酿酒厂造成重创的惩罚性税收。</p>
</div><p>Yet in reality, BrewDog was the author of its own demise. From a toxic work culture to greedy, short-term financial engineering, it ruined itself – and sadly another promising British company has been unable to turn itself into a global business.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>然而实际上，BrewDog 是自我毁灭的作者。从有毒的工作文化到贪婪的短期财务工程，它毁掉了自己——可悲的是，另一家有前途的英国公司未能将自己转变为全球业务。</p>
</div><p>On the surface, BrewDog is yet another victim of Rachel Reeves’s relentless determination to impose as many taxes as she can think of on longer-suffering pubs, as well as a stagnant economy where people are struggling to afford the price of a pint, never mind a meal out.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>表面上看，BrewDog 似乎是 Rachel Reeves 不懈决心的又一受害者，她试图对长期受苦的酒吧征收尽可能多的税，以及在经济停滞的情况下，人们难以承担一杯啤酒的价格，更不用说外出就餐了。</p>
</div><p>As it put itself up for sale, the brewing and pub chain blamed a “challenging economic climate”, as well as the “headwinds” created by extra taxes on alcohol and pubs for the mess it finds itself in.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在挂牌出售时，这家酿酒和酒吧连锁公司将其困境归咎于 “具有挑战性的经济环境”，以及对酒精和酒吧征收的额外税收所造成的 “逆风”。</p>
</div><p>After making mounting losses for the last few years, including an alarming £37m on sales of £357m last year, the company has now appointed the restructuring experts Alix Partners to help find a solution for the business.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在过去几年中，BrewDog 亏损不断，去年在销售 3.57 亿英镑的情况下，亏损高达 3700 万英镑，现在公司已任命重组专家 Alix Partners 来帮助寻找解决方案。</p>
</div><p>It looks almost certain to be sold off, either as a whole or in pieces. One of the brightest British start-ups of the last two decades will either disappear completely or vanish into one of the bland mega-brewers.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它几乎肯定会被整体或分拆出售。过去 20 年中最耀眼的英国初创公司之一将要么完全消失，要么融入某个平淡无奇的大型酿酒商。</p>
</div><p>That is a huge disappointment. Founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, BrewDog was, for the first decade at least, an example of British entrepreneurship at its finest. It rode the boom in craft beers, generated plenty of free coverage for itself through clever social media and used crowdfunding to finance its expansion instead of the banks or the stock market.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>这真是一个巨大的失望。BrewDog 由 James Watt 和 Martin Dickie 于 2007 年创立，至少在头十年里，它是英国企业家精神的典范。它乘着精酿啤酒的热潮，通过巧妙的社交媒体为自己赢得了大量免费宣传，并利用众筹来融资扩张，而不是依赖银行或股市。</p>
</div><p>It was brash, and some of the stunts might have been a little cringe-making, yet it was also fresh, innovative and full of energy. Beers such as Elvis Juice and Punk IPA were something different.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它大胆而前卫，某些噱头可能有些让人尴尬，但它也充满新鲜感、创新性和活力。像 Elvis Juice 和 Punk IPA 这样的啤酒是别具一格的。</p>
</div><p>Its more enthusiastic backers, and indeed many of the so-called “equity punks” who put money into the business, might have hoped it would emerge as a challenger to the likes of AB InBev, Heineken and Carlsberg.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>它的热情支持者，确实包括许多投入资金的所谓 “股权朋克”，可能希望它能成为 AB InBev、喜力和卡尔斯堡等公司的挑战者。</p>
</div><p>Right now, that all looks as if it is about to turn to dust. Watt has already left the company, it is losing money and its private equity shareholder, TSG Capital, has effectively demanded that it be sold off.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>但现在，这一切看起来都将化为泡影。Watt 已经离开公司，它正在亏损，而其私募股权股东 TSG Capital 实际上已经要求出售它。</p>
</div><p>There were two big problems. Allegations of a toxic work culture, with the staff complaining about punishing hours and rampant sexism were made against the business.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>存在两个大问题。关于有毒工作文化的指控，员工抱怨工作时间过长和性别歧视，这些都对公司提出了指控。</p>
</div><p>In the wake of that, both Watt and his co-founder left the company. That mattered. If you are going to be the savvy entrepreneurial insurgent taking on the establishment, then you need to keep your staff and the customers on board. They will always be the most loyal advocates of your brand.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在此之后，Watt 和他的联合创始人都离开了公司。这是重要的。如果你要成为挑战现状的精明企业家，就需要让员工和客户支持你。他们将始终是你品牌最忠诚的倡导者。</p>
</div><p>Whatever the rights or wrongs of the allegations made against Watts and the rest of the management, the rows trashed the brand. BrewDog started to turn into just another faceless corporate brewer.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>无论对 Watts 和其他管理层的指控是对是错，这些争吵都损害了品牌。BrewDog 开始变成了另一个无脸的企业酿酒商。</p>
</div><p>Even more serious was the nature of the deal signed with TSG. The firm injected £213m into the business back in 2017 in return for a 21pc stake.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>更严重的是与 TSG 签署的交易性质。该公司在 2017 年向业务注入了 2.13 亿英镑，以换取 21% 的股份。</p>
</div><p>In a highly unusual deal, the firm insisted on a clause guaranteeing an 18pc compounded rate of return on its investment. It was, to put it politely, expensive money even by the standards of private equity.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在一项非常不寻常的交易中，该公司坚持要求一项条款，保证其投资的复合年回报率为 18%。可以说，这笔钱即使在私募股权的标准下也是昂贵的。</p>
</div><p>Sure, it turned the founders into multimillionaires and avoided a stock market float, but eventually it led to the company accumulating debts of more than £800m, an almost impossible burden for it to carry in the climate when its core British market has stagnated.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>当然，这让创始人成为百万富翁，避免了上市，但最终导致公司积累了超过 8 亿英镑的债务，这在其核心英国市场停滞的情况下几乎是一个不可能承受的负担。</p>
</div><p>The “equity punks”, who surely deserved a lot better, may well be hung out to dry if the business is sold off, and so will the staff if pubs and breweries have to be closed or slimmed down.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>那些本应得到更好待遇的 “股权朋克” 可能会在公司被出售时被抛弃，如果酒吧和酿酒厂不得不关闭或缩减，员工也会如此。</p>
</div><p>A company that was meant to be doing things differently has ended up, like so many promising start-ups before it, as a victim of too much hype and over-complicated financial engineering.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>一个本应以不同方式运作的公司，最终像许多有前途的初创公司一样，成为了过度炒作和复杂财务工程的受害者。</p>
</div><p>Watts meanwhile, is busily turning himself into an entrepreneurship guru with plans for his own Dragon’s Den-style reality TV show. In terms of energy, verve and chutzpah, he has plenty to teach people, and, in fairness, those are all important qualities when founding a company.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>与此同时，Watts 正在忙于将自己打造成创业导师，计划制作自己的《龙的巢穴》风格的真人秀节目。在精力、活力和胆略方面，他有很多东西可以教人，公平地说，这些都是创办公司的重要品质。</p>
</div><p>But you also need a long-term vision and a determination to play the long game. In the end, BrewDog was a victim of the greed of both the private equity industry and the founders, who seemed more interested in getting rich quickly than patiently building a major business.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>但你还需要一个长期愿景和决心去打持久战。最终，BrewDog 是私募股权行业和创始人贪婪的受害者，他们似乎更关心快速致富，而不是耐心地建立一家大公司。</p>
</div><p>Britain has a rich heritage in brewing. The craft brewers were reinventing that for a new century. BrewDog was the brightest star to emerge from that boom.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>英国在酿酒方面有着丰富的传统。精酿酿酒商正在为新世纪重新定义这一传统。BrewDog 是这一繁荣中崭露头角的最耀眼明星。</p>
</div><p>For a brief moment, it had the opportunity to turn itself into a major new global brand. If there is a lesson from its likely demise, it is that as a country, we still have the ability to produce great entrepreneurs. Yet as so often, it has proved impossible to transform that into lasting success – and until that starts to change, the UK will not generate nearly as many major new companies as it should.</p>
<div class="lb-trans"><p>在短暂的时刻，它有机会将自己转变为一个主要的新全球品牌。如果从它可能的灭亡中有一个教训，那就是作为一个国家，我们仍然有能力培养出优秀的企业家。然而，正如往常一样，将其转化为持久的成功似乎是不可能的——直到这一点开始改变，英国将不会产生应有的许多重大新公司。</p>
</div>

BrewDog 是导致自身衰落的原因