BrewDog board appoints AlixPartners to oversee potential sale and breakup

The board of BrewDog has appointed AlixPartners, the restructuring experts, to field interest from potential bidders, a move that could prompt the break-up of one of Scotland’s best-known consumer businesses. Sky News reported that AlixPartners had begun sounding out prospective suitors in the last few days, with a quickfire deadline for indicative offers understood to have been set.

The group still operates at scale: BrewDog trades from 72 bars globally, including in London and Las Vegas, and the BBC notes about 60 of those sites are in the UK. It employs roughly 1,400 people and runs four breweries - at Ellon in Scotland and sites in the US, Australia and Germany. The portfolio includes flagship beers such as Punk IPA and Elvis Juice and other brands including Hazy Jane, Wingman and Lost; Sky says the company produces five of the top eight UK craft beer brands and boasts a 4% share of the UK off-trade grocery market by value.

Financial pressure and recent cutbacks set the scene for the adviser hire. "Last year, the company lost £37m on turnover of £357m," a figure repeated across multiple outlets, and BrewDog announced job cuts in October 2025 after those results. Earlier in 2025 the business closed 10 UK bars, including its flagship pub in Aberdeen, and last month it announced it was closing its distilling brands and halted gin and vodka production at its distillery in Elgin, Aberdeenshire, prompting concerns over jobs at that Scottish facility. In the US, the Columbus Dispatch reports BrewDog USA operates out of Canal Winchester, central Ohio, and that the company has closed its Franklinton and Short North taprooms while continuing to trade at New Albany, Canal Winchester and John Glenn Columbus International Airport; the Franklinton site is reportedly up for sale.

The ownership picture complicates any deal. A deal could see many of BrewDog's roughly 220,000 individual shareholders, who became investors through its Equity for Punks scheme, left with little return from their average outlay of about £400. In 2017 TSG Consumer Partners took a 21% stake in BrewDog in a deal which implied a unicorn valuation of at least $1bn, but one insider said the company would now command a price tag of far less than a once-mooted valuation of £2bn. Mr Watt, who remains one of BrewDog’s biggest shareholders, is now reportedly considering a bid to buy the company back, with sources indicating that he is canvassing support from financial backers; Watt stepped down as chief executive in 2024.

BrewDog’s past reputation for high-profile marketing sits alongside a fraught workplace history: five years ago allegations from dozens of former employees described a "culture of fear," though Sky also noted the company has recently appeared in lists of reputable employers. The industry context is difficult, with Sky pointing to tough conditions for independent brewers and recent distressed sales elsewhere in the sector.

BrewDog’s official lines insist stability while the process runs. A BrewDog spokesperson said, "BrewDog remains a global pioneer in craft beer: a world‑class consumer brand, the No 1 independent brewer in the UK and with a highly engaged global community. We believe that this combination will attract substantial interest, though no final decisions have been made. Our breweries, bars, and venues continue to operate as normal. We will not comment on any further speculation." The BBC quoted company language adding, "Following a year of decisive action in 2025, which saw a focus on costs and operating efficiencies, we have appointed AlixPartners to support a structured and competitive process to evaluate the next phase of investment for the business… This is a deliberate and disciplined step with a focus on strengthening the long‑term future of the BrewDog brand and its operations." AlixPartners refused to comment on the sales process.

Watch for confirmation of indicative or binding offers, clarification on whether the four breweries will be shopped separately, and any formal bid from James Watt or other suitors, alongside announcements on job impacts at Ellon, Elgin and US taprooms.