After 17 years James Watt has stepped down as CEO of Brewdog. He will remain on the Board and have an advisory role (etc). In a slightly different context the same pattern was seen at Camden (now ABI) and Beavertown (now Heineken). The founders were eased out entirely over a period.
Of course Brewdog at the moment remains independent(ish). US Private Equity Group TSG have had a 22% stake since 2017. The business plan of PE is to be involved for a period (usually up to 5 years but the pandemic has intervened) and then divest at a profit.
Ive long thought that if Brewdog was going to go for a public listing (IPO) Watt would not be the person to head it up. In my experience (as union officer in the Square Mile) the City analysts who tend to decide the ‘sentiment’ around a company tend to focus quite narrowly on the financials. However such is Watt’s public profile a more reliable suit wearer- in this case James Arrow- was probably required.
Unless Ive missed something Brewdog is the only UK based craft beer company to potentially seek a listing so if it happens it will be interesting.
Rob Davies (Guardian) queried on X what is craft about Brewdog. In my view very little. The beer which used to be great is now not stand out and the bars are at expensive (Punk IPA is much cheaper in a Spoons). However the reality remains that the drinking public think of Brewdog and Beavertown as craft beer. Big Craft Beer in reality.
Of course if you like conspiracy theories (being a materialist I don’t) you might think Watt’s departure is because something even more concerning about him than has already appeared, is about to be revealed. I doubt it. This is about business.
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