BrewDog seeks £50m investment for fresh expansion drive

Scottish brewer would use the financial boost to launch 15 new bars and strengthen its brewing facilities

The company wants to open new breweries in Asia and Australia (PA)

BrewDog plans to raise up to £50m to underpin a fresh expansion drive that will include the launch of a craft beer TV network.

The Scottish brewer wants the financial firepower to roll out 15 new UK bars and bolster its brewing facilities, including an expansion of its UK operation and the creation of new breweries in Australia and Asia.

The crowdfunding push, which will have a £10m target but could be extended to £50m, will price shares at £23.75 each and will end on 15 January next year.

BrewDog's co-founder James Watt said: "The latest round of Equity for Punks will make us the biggest equity crowdfunded business of all time, having already raised over £41m from a community of tens of thousands of misfits, forging a new kind of business model founded on craft, community and conscience."

The first £10m will be used to finance a new Brewhouse at its Ellon brewery in Scotland to meet a growing demand across the UK and Europe.

If Brewdog rakes in the full £50m, it will invest in its sour beer facility - The Overworks - set to open later this year, while ploughing £10m into a new brewery in Asia and £5 million into a new Australian facility.

It will also drive £3m into its UK BrewDog bars business, with the aim of launching 15 new outlets in 2018.

Mr Watt added: "Our Equity Punk investors haven't just supported the growth of an organisation now valued at over £1bn, they have inspired the creation of a model that will give away 20 per cent of its profits to its team and charitable causes via our pioneering Unicorn Fund."

BrewDog, which employs 800 people and has raised £41m since 2009, plans to issue the shares in blocks of two with a minimum purchase of two shares for £47.50.

PA