Brewdog brewdog closes all bars for a day as it looks to complete sale
brewdog has closed all of its bars for the day and cancelled food and beer deliveries and customer bookings as it prepares to finalise a sale. The decision follows the arrival of consultants two weeks ago and an internal email from chief executive James Taylor scheduling company-wide staff meetings.
Brewdog to hold All Hands
Chief executive James Taylor confirmed to staff in an internal email that a series of staff meetings would take place on Monday. The email said the meetings would be company-wide All Hands calls, scheduled for tomorrow (Monday) for all employees across the whole business, and that they had been arranged so colleagues could hear directly about what happens next.
Bars closed for licensing issues
The email explained the bars would be closed to comply with licensing issues arising from an anticipated change of ownership. It said: "We appreciate this is an unsettling time for everyone, and we want to ensure that all colleagues have the opportunity to hear directly from us about what happens next. "We will therefore be holding a series of company-wide All Hands calls tomorrow (Monday) for all employees across the whole business. These will be scheduled tomorrow. "To enable everyone to attend, and to comply with licensing issues arising from an anticipated change of ownership, we have taken the decision that none of our bars will open tomorrow (Monday). All sites will remain closed for the day. "We have also cancelled food and beer deliveries, as well as customer bookings, for that day. "
Consultants brought in two weeks ago
Two weeks ago the company announced that consultants AlixPartners had been brought in after the firm failed to make a profit in recent years. Brewdog expected to announce sale early next week.
Distillery halt and job cuts
Last month the company halted production of gin and vodka brands at its distillery in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, in order to "sharpen" the businesses focus. The company announced job cuts across the business in October last year after posting a £37m loss.
Founders, sites and workforce
Brewdog was founded by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2007. The company has breweries and pubs around the globe, including about 60 in the UK, and currently employs around 1, 400 people. In addition to the Ellon site, Brewdog has breweries in the US, Australia and Germany, and it has a flagship site on Castle Street in Aberdeen city centre.
Closures and recent moves
Earlier in 2025 the company announced the closure of 10 bars across the UK, including its flagship pub in Aberdeen. Headlines and coverage in recent days have included phrases such as "I invested £12, 000 in Brewdog - I think I've lost it all", "Scottish craft beer brand Brewdog put up for sale" and "Brewdog staff 'upset and concerned' by sale plans".
The full sequence of actions — hiring consultants, halting distillery production, announcing job cuts, closing bars for a day and scheduling company-wide All Hands calls — forms the company's public move toward completing a sale. Unclear in the provided context is the identity of the buyer or the exact timetable beyond the expectation that the sale would be announced early next week.
All sites remained closed for the day specified in the internal email to allow staff to attend the calls and to meet licensing requirements tied to the anticipated change of ownership.
