BrewDog smashes £15m for Equity for Punks Five
Plans for the money raised in the crowdfunding exercise including building another craft beer hotel, launching a TV network and expanding into Asia.
The Scottish operator passed its £10m minimum target for the Equity for Punks Five in January this year.
As a result of ongoing demand, and an influx of requests for additional time to invest, BrewDog confirmed that it would be keeping the investment opportunity open until 15 October 2018, or until the maximum potential sum of £50m was reached.
Shared passion
In January BrewDog co-founder James Watt said: “The continued demand for Equity for Punk demonstrates the passion people share for our mission, our values and our beer.
“It is 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.
“Our success over the past decade is down to our engaged, passionate community of evangelistic Equity Punks – they are the lifeblood of our business, and the incredible groundswell of demand for this latest round of crowdfunding proves we are not even close to slowing down any time soon.”
Meanwhile, BrewDog teamed up with London cider maker Hawkes earlier this month (April). The company made an undisclosed investment in the Bermondsey-based producer, co-founder James Watt revealed on stage at BrewDog’s annual AGM in Aberdeen.
Kindred spirit
A post on BrewDog’s website outlined its reasoning for investing in the cider producer. It said: “A few months ago, we met with Simon Wright, the founder of Hawkes cider in London.
“Here, we found a kindred spirit. Hawkes’ approach to cider parallels our heritage with beer, and we see huge potential in the difference the business can make to a mass-market monopolised segment of the drinks scene.
“Cider has a massive opportunity to be so much more than a sweet, fizzy pint of something soulless, or a sickly, pink, drink with more calories than cola. Cider can be as much of a craft beverage as beer, and has as bright a future as brewing.”
The post also confirmed that Hawkes’ senior management team, including founder Simon Wright, would remain in place following the investment, with the cider maker’s range of products not expected to change significantly.
