US beverage and medical cannabis company Tilray has bought struggling Brewdog‘s UK brewing operations, brand and 11 pubs in a £33m deal.
Administrators said the sale had saved 733 jobs, but that 484 jobs had been lost and 38 bars had closed after they were not included in the rescue deal.
They added that no equity holders – including those who invested in the brewer’s Equity for Punks scheme – would get any return from the deal.
Aberdeenshire-based Brewdog announced last month that consultants AlixPartners had been brought in after the firm failed to make a profit in recent years. On Monday, they were appointed as administrators.
AlixPartners said there had been “significant interest” in the company but that it had not received any offer which would have preserved Brewdog in its entirety.
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“Regrettably, a total of 38 bars in the UK will close with immediate effect, leading to 484 redundancies,” said the administrators.
BrewDog’s 18 franchise bars in the UK and internationally will continue to operate.
Tilray was founded in Canada but is now headquartered in New York, and already owns several US craft beer brands.
It described the deal as a significant opportunity for growth in the UK and international markets.
The two firms are still negotiating for a deal on Brewdog’s assets in the US and Australia, while Brewdog’s German arm – which includes a brewery and bar in Berlin – was not included in the sale and will be liquidated.
Brewdog, which was founded by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2007, although both have stepped back from the company in recent years following a series of controversies. It had four breweries and about 100 pubs around the globe.
In 2009, the firm launched its Equity for Punks fundraising scheme. About 200,000 people put money into the scheme, which offered a stake in the company, discounts and perks.
Small investors typically spent about £500 on shares, costing £20 to £30 each, although others invested larger sums.
Before it closed to new investors in 2021, Equity for Punks is said to have raised £75m which was used to expand the business into an international brand.
In 2017, US equity firm TSG Consumer Partners acquired a 22% stake in Brewdog, but unlike the Equity for Punks’ “ordinary” shareholders, TSG was given “preference shares”.
That meant that if Brewdog was sold, TSG was first in the queue to get back its investment plus any return owed, possibly leaving little or nothing for small investors, whose shares have essentially become worthless under the rescue plan.
Last month, Brewdog halted production of gin and vodka brands at its distillery in Ellon, Aberdeenshire. This followed job cuts across the business last October after the business posted a £37m loss. Earlier in 2025 it had announced the closure of 10 bars across the UK, including its flagship pub in Aberdeen.
The company employed around 1,400 people at its peak.
