Brewdog Leaves £20m in Unpaid Bills to UK Businesses
Scottish beer giant Brewdog has left £20 million in unpaid bills to hundreds of UK businesses following its collapse last month.
These debts span a wide range of sectors including coffee shops, bakeries, laundry services, legal firms, local councils, and holiday parks.
A report by administrators Alixpartners revealed that nearly 500 firms are owed money by Brewdog, including notable names such as West Ham United, Lord's Cricket Ground, and the University of Manchester.
The Aberdeenshire-based brewer had accumulated more than £500 million in debts when it was sold in March to US drinks company Tilray in a £33 million deal.
Administrators have detailed the extent of Brewdog's debts to both small businesses and larger suppliers.
Most of the creditors are based in the UK, with many located near Brewdog's headquarters in northeast Scotland. Others are located abroad.
For example, Aberdeenshire coffee roaster Coffee Apothecary is owed £8,000, Edinburgh caterer A Crolla & Son is owed £7,000, and Edinburgh laundry firm Suds R Us has an unpaid bill of £900.
UK holiday resort company Centre Parcs is also owed £7,000.
Marylebone Cricket Club, which owns Lord's Cricket Ground, is owed £420,000.
Brewdog had sold 750,000 pints annually at the London stadium before the club ended their partnership last month.
West Ham United football club is owed £7,000, while the University of Manchester has an unpaid bill of £14,000.
Aberdeen City Council is owed £11,400, and North Lanarkshire Council is owed £87,000.
Aberdeenshire Council, where Brewdog's Ellon headquarters is located, is owed £238,000. Numerous local businesses have also been affected.
These include local printer Langstane Press, transport provider RS Taxis, and the Ythan Bakery in Ellon.
Major drinks companies such as Heineken, Coors, and Tennent Caledonian are among the creditors, alongside smaller independent breweries that have collaborated with Brewdog in the past.
These smaller breweries include Manchester's Cloudwater Brew Co, Edinburgh's Vault City Brewing, and smaller producers Donzoko and Buxton Brewery.
The largest individual debts in the report are from Ardagh Metal Packaging (£3 million), ARR Craib Transport (£1.6 million), and Ball Beverage Packaging (£1.2 million).
Event and marketing firms such as Rock Soup Media, Design My Night, and GigPig are also owed money.
'No Value' for Equity for Punks Investors
Alixpartners also confirmed that investors in Brewdog's Equity for Punks scheme will receive no return on their shares.
The Equity for Punks crowdfunding scheme was launched in 2009, attracting about 200,000 investors who contributed funds in exchange for company stakes, discounts, and perks.
Investors typically spent around £500 on shares, although some invested significantly larger sums.
Concerns had been raised about the fate of these small investors in the event of a sale.
The administrators' report stated that these shares now have "no value."
Brewdog's largest debt is to financial services group HSBC, which is owed more than £61 million across various banking arms.
As the senior secured creditor, HSBC is expected to recover much of this debt, but Alixpartners warned the bank would still face a "material shortfall."
Major Brewdog backer TSG Consumer Partners, a US private-equity group, is owed £27.6 million but is not expected to receive any repayment.
Other unsecured creditors will see returns of less than 1p in the pound on nearly £190 million of debt.
HM Revenue & Customs is expected to be paid in full for more than £4 million owed.
Last month, 440 staff were made redundant, and 736 employees transferred to Tilray after the US firm acquired Brewdog's brand and UK operations.
Eleven bars were retained as part of the sale, while 38 other pubs closed immediately.
Tilray, which also produces medical cannabis, announced this week that it aims to return Brewdog to its previous valuation of more than $1 billion.
Chairman Irwin D Simon said:
"Our priorities are clear - strengthen Brewdog, accelerate innovation, and scale our global beverage platform.
We are already taking decisive steps to reinvest in the Brewdog brand, innovation pipeline, and brewpub experience."
Brewdog's Founding and Collapse
Brewdog was founded in 2007 by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie. At its peak, the company operated four breweries and about 100 pubs worldwide.
James Watt expressed his feelings after the collapse, stating he was "heartbroken" and apologised to staff and investors.
