Brewdog sold to Tilray in £33m deal as all bars shut for staff briefings
Brewdog’s UK brewing operations, brand and 11 pubs have been sold to US beverage and medical cannabis company Tilray in a £33m transaction, as the company closed all of its bars for a day to hold staff meetings and manage licensing issues tied to the change of ownership. The deal and the temporary shutdown come amid administration proceedings and a wave of job losses and pub closures.
Tilray completes £33m purchase and takes control of Ellon and Motherwell facilities
Tilray has bought the brewer’s UK operations, its brand and 11 pubs for £33m, and will take control of facilities that include the brewery in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, and The Hop Hub distribution centre in Motherwell, Lanarkshire. The buyer, which already owns several US craft beer brands, described the deal as a significant opportunity for growth in the UK and international markets. Negotiations remain ongoing over assets in the United States and Australia.
James Taylor orders company-wide All Hands and closes Brewdog bars for a day
Chief executive James Taylor told staff in an internal email that a series of All Hands calls would take place on Monday and that none of the company’s bars would open that day to enable attendance and to comply with licensing issues arising from the anticipated change of ownership. The email 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. " Food and beer deliveries and customer bookings were cancelled for the day, and online sales were temporarily suspended while staff meetings took place.
AlixPartners appointed as administrators after consultancy role
The company had brought in consultants AlixPartners earlier in its rescue process and AlixPartners were appointed as administrators on Monday. Administrators said there had been "significant interest" but that no offer had been received that would preserve the business in its entirety. They warned of immediate consequences, stating: "Regrettably, a total of 38 bars in the UK will close with immediate effect, leading to 484 redundancies. " The administrators said the sale preserved 733 jobs in the rescue deal.
Impact on jobs, pubs and investors
The administration and sale have produced a mixed outcome: administrators say 733 positions have been preserved through the Tilray deal, while 484 roles have been lost and 38 bars closed because they were not included in the rescue. The company currently employs around 1, 400 people. Earlier restructuring moves included job cuts announced in October last year after Brewdog posted a £37m loss, and a separate decision earlier in 2025 to close 10 bars across the UK, including its flagship pub in Aberdeen. The company has halted production of its gin and vodka brands at the Ellon distillery to "sharpen" the business focus.
Founders, franchise operations and overseas arms
Founded in Aberdeenshire in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, the brewer grew into an international operation that has been described as having around four breweries and about 100 pubs worldwide, with roughly 60 in the UK and additional breweries in the United States, Australia and Germany. BrewDog's 18 franchise bars in the UK and internationally will continue to operate. The German arm, which includes a brewery and a bar in Berlin, was not included in the sale and will be liquidated. No equity holders, including those who invested in the firm’s 2009 fundraising scheme Equity for Punks, will receive any return from the deal; concerns about small investors had been raised in recent weeks. One private investor said they had put in £12, 000 and believed they had lost it all.
Legacy issues, leadership changes and public controversies
The sale follows a period of turbulence for the business. In 2024 the company faced backlash after announcing it would no longer hire new staff on the real living wage and would instead pay the lower legal minimum. A documentary that highlighted allegations about the behaviour of former chief executive James Watt led to a complaint to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom, which was rejected. Watt subsequently stepped down as chief executive and moved to a newly created role of "captain and co-founder, " while Martin Dickie left the company last year for personal reasons.
What makes this notable is the scale of the unwind: administrators say the transaction preserves several hundred roles while simultaneously triggering nearly 500 redundancies and the immediate closure of dozens of sites. The timing matters because the company had already taken steps in recent months to reduce operations — including halting distillery production and closing several pubs — which fed directly into the administration process and the assets included in the rescue.
Separately, Scots in the region and beyond have been telling the how they have been affected by the military strikes.
