Brewdog co-founder James Watt launches attempt to buy back beer brand

By ANGHARAD CARRICK, BUSINESS NEWS EDITOR The co-founder of Brewdog has made a bid to buy back the beer brand after it was sold to a US cannabis firm earlier this year. James Watt, who stepped down as chief executive of Brewdog in 2024, said he had formally submitted an offer to buy the brand back from Tilray. Brewdog, which was once estimated to be worth £2billion, was sold to the Nasdaq-listed firm for just £33million in March after putting itself up for sale.  The deal included Brewdog's intellectual property, UK assets and some of its US sites, including its Las Vegas bar, as it seeks to branch out into energy drinks. Watt had reportedly pursued an offer for parts of the beer brand, alongside the private equity firm Modella Capital, but lost out to Tilray.   Brewdog's former boss James Watt has launched a bid to buy back his beer brand  Brewdog drew criticism from its crowdfunding investors – dubbed 'Equity Punks' – after they were pushed to the bottom of the pile when it put itself up for sale. Since then, Watt has launched a new beer brand, called Second Best, which he set up to offer shares to thousands of 'Equity Punks' who had bought shares in Brewdog but missed out on returns from its sale. In a statement on LinkedIn, Watt today said he had made an offer for Brewdog through Second Best, and said if he succeeds 'every registered [Equity] punk gets their Brewdog equity back, for free'. He added: 'The punks and the crew built this company and Brewdog deserves to belong to them once more. Equity Punks, you backed me once. This time, I'm backing you.'   James Watt married reality TV star and entrepreneur Georgia Toffolo last year  The estimated 220,000 beer enthusiasts who invested some £75million in Brewdog were left with shares that are practically worthless. Those who invested were promised a range of perks including discounts on beer, and an invite to Brewdog's annual AGM, or Annual General Mayhem, event. It was a sore point for many Brewdog fans, after Watt and co-founder Martin Dickie were said to have shared in a reported £100million payday when they sold 22 per cent of the firm to US investment firm TSG Partners.   Founded in 2007, Brewdog grew from an anti-establishment brand and a challenger to the big breweries to a mainstream beer company. Watt was replaced as chief executive by James Arrow in 2024, after a series of controversies over the Scottish brewery’s treatment of staff. The former north Atlantic fisherman, who married Made in Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo, said he was stepping down to make more time for travel, friends and family, and to focus on new business ventures. Tilray was contacted for comment.   Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. 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