Beer market down but BrewDog upbeat
The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) reported on 26 July 2013 that pub beer sales were down by 5.8 percent in the second quarter of 2013. Volumes in supermarkets fell 3.6 percent, the lowest second quarter fall since 2005. Overall beer volumes across both channels dropped 4.8 percent.
Brigid Simmonds, the CEO of BBPA, said: “The figures clearly show … that the benefits of the beer duty tax cut will take time to bear fruit.”
While the UK’s major brewers may wring their hands, Scottish brewer and bar operator BrewDog has its hands full. In an effort to finance its ambitious expansion scheme, the brewer in late June 2013 launched an attempt to raise GBP 4 million (USD 6.2 million / EUR 4.6 million) by selling shares directly to beer drinkers through crowd-funding.
With the “Equity for Punks” scheme, the company has made 42,000 shares available to anyone, at GBP 95 each. Within 24 hours, over 10,500 shares were sold, raising GBP 1 million for the company.
Shares are available to buy at
www.brewdog.com/equityforpunks. The closing date for the offer is 22 January 2014.
As well as owning part of the BrewDog business, Equity for Punks shareholders are given a lifetime discount of five percent at BrewDog’s craft beer bars and a discount of up to 20 percent – depending on how much they invest – at BrewDog’s online shop at BrewDog.com, it was reported.
The company plans to use the funds for an expansion of its brewery, its growing bar division and a new series of bottle shops across the UK.
The group, which is on track to achieve a turnover of GBP 20 million (USD 31 million / EUR 23 million) in 2013, has opened 12 bars since 2010 – largely funded by Equity for Punks – including its first international location in Stockholm, Sweden. It opened a GBP 7.5 million brewery earlier this year in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
BrewDog is now targeting Sheffield, Liverpool, Brighton, Cardiff, Cambridge, Oxford and London for bar openings this year
Its beers include Punk IPA, 5am Saint, Dead Pony Club and Dogma.
In response to its significant growth, U.S. investors Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio – the team that developed Skyy Vodka – bought into BrewDog in 2009. The two also bought the Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco in 2010 from Fritz Maytag.
