BREWDOG’S founders James Watt and Martin Dickie are understood to have made £100 million between them after selling 22 per cent of the company to a San Francisco private equity house, writes Andrew Learmonth.
The sale to TSG Consumer Partners is worth reportedly worth £213m.
Some £100m will be invested in the business. TSG also spent £113m buying shares from existing investors.
Those early investors who backed the company 10 years ago will have made a tidy profit as a result.
The 50,000 “Equity Punks” who have invested in the four previous rounds of crowdfunding, will be able to sell up to 15 per cent of their shares from this week, the company said.
At the firm’s AGM over the weekend, Watt told investors they stand make a return of 2800 per cent if they were among those who bought in at the first opportunity in 2010. That fundraising effort valued the company at just £26m, but after TSG’s investment the company is now valued at £1bn. The valuation means that even late-stage investors who bought equity last year could make a 177 per cent return if they choose to sell.
Watt said: “Ever since we first started this journey in Martin’s mum’s garage, BrewDog has existed to make other people as passionate about great craft beer as we are.
“We remain more laser focused on that goal than ever before.”
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