Brewdog founder to give shares in new beer brand to old investors
Brewdog founder James Watt is launching a new beer brand called Second Best, offering shares to former investors who lost money in Brewdog. He plans to allocate nearly 20% of the new company's shares to those affected by Brewdog's collapse. Watt aims to honor his obligation to these investors by allowing them to reclaim their stakes for free.
- ▪James Watt co-founded Brewdog in 2007, which peaked with a valuation exceeding $1bn before collapsing under £500m in debt.
- ▪Watt's new venture, Second Best, will give nearly 20% of its shares to former Brewdog investors who lost money.
- ▪Brewdog was sold to Tilray earlier this year, resulting in job losses and no returns for Equity for Punks investors.
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| Original publisher | BBC News — UK |
| Canonical URL | https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c74r3pgd3gwo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss |
| Publication time | Sat, 23 May 2026 10:32:26 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-23T11:17:26.390Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-23T11:17:26.390Z |
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Brewdog founder to give shares in new beer brand to old investors44 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GooglePA MediaJames Watt was 24 when he co-founded Brewdog in 2007One of the founders of Brewdog has announced plans to launch a new beer brand, promising free shares to people who lost money in his original venture.James Watt co‑founded the craft beer company with Martin Dickie in 2007. At its peak, Brewdog had four breweries, around 100 pubs worldwide, and a valuation exceeding $1bn.However, the company collapsed with debts of more than £500m and was taken over by US based Tilray earlier this year.Watt says he will allocate nearly 20% of shares in his new beer company, called Second Best, to people who lost money after investing in Brewdog's Equity for Punks scheme.From a £1bn…
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