BrewDog has been sold to US cannabis and craft brewing group Tilray in a £33 million rescue deal that will safeguard hundreds of jobs but see 38 bars close with the loss of 484 roles.
The Scottish craft beer brand, founded in 2007 in Aberdeenshire, has been acquired by Tilray Brands, which owns a portfolio of US craft breweries and cannabis operations. Under the agreement, Tilray has purchased BrewDog’s UK brewing business and 11 of its pub venues across the UK and Ireland.
The transaction includes BrewDog’s main brewery in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, and its national distribution centre, The Hop Hub, in Motherwell, Lanarkshire. A total of 733 UK jobs will be preserved, with affected employees transferring to Tilray.
However, administrators confirmed that 38 bars not included in the deal will shut permanently, resulting in 484 job losses. BrewDog’s 18 franchise bars in the UK and overseas will continue trading as normal.
Irwin D Simon, chairman and chief executive of Tilray Brands, described BrewDog as “one of the most iconic, mission-driven craft beer brands in the UK”.
“It helped redefine modern craft beer through bold innovation, fearless creativity and an unwavering commitment to great beer,” he said. “As we begin a new chapter for this great brand, our priority is to refocus BrewDog on the craft beer excellence that made it beloved in the first place and strategically invest to return the operations to profitable growth.”
Simon added that Tilray was committed to ensuring BrewDog continued to “lead and inspire the global craft beer movement”.
The sale follows weeks of uncertainty after BrewDog confirmed it was working with advisers to explore strategic options amid mounting financial pressures. The company temporarily closed all 60 of its UK bars to allow staff to attend internal meetings and to comply with licensing requirements ahead of the anticipated change of ownership.
Chief executive James Taylor told employees that the closures were necessary to ensure staff could be briefed directly on developments and to manage regulatory issues tied to the ownership transition.
The deal comes after a last-minute attempt by BrewDog co-founder James Watt to buy back the company fell through. Watt, who stepped down as chief executive in May 2024 but retains a 22% stake, had been preparing to invest around £10 million of his own money as part of a potential buyout consortium. Sources close to the situation said the proposal did not materialise.
Watt co-founded BrewDog alongside Martin Dickie and built the brand into a global craft beer name through provocative marketing and rapid expansion. In 2017, private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners acquired a 21% stake in a deal that valued the company at more than $1 billion, cementing its “unicorn” status.
In recent years, however, BrewDog has struggled with mounting losses, operational costs and declining bar performance. The company reported a £37 million loss last year on turnover of £357 million, having already closed a number of venues and cut staff.
The business also faces questions from its large base of retail investors. Through its “Equity for Punks” scheme, BrewDog raised approximately £75 million between 2009 and 2021 from more than 200,000 small shareholders, offering them minority stakes and product perks. The long-term implications of the Tilray deal for those investors remain unclear.
Under the transaction, the following UK venues are understood to remain open as part of the Tilray acquisition: Birmingham, Canary Wharf, DogTap Ellon, Dublin, Edinburgh DogHouse, Lothian Road, Manchester, Paddington, Seven Dials, Tower Hill and Waterloo.
The sale marks a significant shift for BrewDog as it moves under American ownership, with Tilray expected to integrate the UK operations into its broader craft and cannabis-focused portfolio while seeking to restore profitability to one of Britain’s best-known beer brands.
