BrewDog keeps the taps open after hitting £10m crowdfunding mark

BrewDog
BrewDog extends crowdfunding deadline after surpassing £10m mark Credit: Sam Brill

Punk IPA maker BrewDog has surpassed its £10m crowdfunding target but opted to extend the deadline in a bid for even more cash.

The brewer raised more than £11.4m in 90 days from a total of 24,000 investors, most of whom will be individual retail investors the company dubs "Equity Punks".

The cash has been earmarked for a new brewery at its original site in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, to help keep up with demand in the UK and Europe. It will also be put towards creating the company’s first sour beer facility which BrewDog said would allow it to create a wider range of beers in its bid to “push the boundaries of craft beer”.

But co-founder James Watt said the company had decided to extend the crowdfunding deadline until October in a bid to raise even more cash.

Anything above its initial £10m target will enable the company to invest more quickly in its plans for growth efforts in Asia and Australia, where it plans to open breweries.

BrewDog co-founder James Watt
BrewDog co-founder James Watt Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

It will even help fund its plans to invest £2m into creating its own TV network dedicated to craft in all walks of life, following the success of its TV show Brew Dogs, which aired on the Esquire Network in the USA.

“It’s insane to see more than 20,000 people buy a piece of our business, and with interest still proving higher than we anticipated, we have decided to extend the opportunity to invest in our company until October,” Mr Watt said.

Since 2009, BrewDog has raised a whopping £50m via crowdfunding from almost 70,000 investors.

The company’s success caught the eye of private equity investor TSG Consumer Partners, which splashed £213m on a 22pc stake in the company, valuing it at around £1bn.

Shares in the latest crowdfunding round cost £23.75 each and are issued in blocks of two, meaning the minimum investment is £47.50. The fundraising ends on October 15 or when the maximum allowable – £50m – is raised.

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