Scottish craft brewery BrewDog has announced that it plans to close 10 of its bars – including the first one it ever opened.
The firm – best-known for its trademark Punk IPA pale ale – says it will close the branches that it says are no longer ‘commercially viable’. Staff at the affected bars were told at 12.30 today, MailOnline understands.
It says ‘many’ of the staff will be moved to other bars, but that some will be ‘leaving the business’ – and was accused by a union of giving staff as little as three days’ notice, with some bars reportedly poised to shut as soon as the end of this week.
The news comes as CEO James Taylor told investors that BrewDog’s financials did not make for ‘happy reading’. It is attempting to revamp its image under new management after wiping its entire social media presence last month.
Mr Taylor, who is the second new CEO to take over since founder James Watt stepped back amidst a flurry of accusations of improper conduct, has previously warned the firm is likely to report a pre-tax loss for 2024.
And the chain had started the year by closing six pubs across the world, including two in England, three in Europe and one in England.
BrewDog has weathered a number of publicity storms in recent years as its reputation has taken a hammering.
But it has also faced stiff competition from new entrants into the ‘craft beer’ market.
BrewDog has announced that it will close 10 bars across the UK including its Camden branch (pictured) as its financial performance stalls in a challenging market
Among the bars set to close is a branch in Gallowgate in Aberdeen – the first commercial pub BrewDog opened in 2010, close to their headquarters in Ellon, Aberdeenshire – and one in Dundee.
Three bars in London are set to close: Camden, the first one opened in the capital, as well as branches in the trendy Shoreditch district and Shepherd’s Bush.
Pubs will also close in Brighton, Leeds’ North Street, Oxford, Sheffield and York.
A note circulated to staff by Mr Taylor states that the focus will turn to ‘destination hubs’ such as those in Waterloo – which features a bowling alley and a large spiral slide – and smaller ‘community bars’.
‘We are working hard to minimise the impact on our people, and we expect to redeploy many affected team members across the BrewDog network,’ he said.
‘For those leaving the business, we’re providing as much support as possible during this transition.’
And writing on the ‘Equity for Punks’ investor forum, Mr Taylor said the company’s headline financial numbers ‘do not make for happy reading’.
‘There’s still a lot of work ahead to do across our business. But I’m confident that H2 (year half two) will reflect the progress we’re making. We’re on the right path, doing the right things and the results will follow,’ he said.
BrewDog was accused by Unite Hospitality of giving staff as little as ‘three days’ notice that their bar would close.
A spokesperson for the brewery said staff were going through a ‘meaningful and appropriate consultation’ that would last at least 14 days.
Bryan Simpson, of Unite, which represents BrewDog staff, said: ‘For Brewdog to give loyal workers less than four days’ notice of the closure of their workplace is not just morally repugnant, it is potentially unlawful.
‘This is yet another example of a company that doesn’t have the slightest regard for basic employment law let alone the welfare of their workers.
‘We are currently supporting our members across these 10 sites to collectively challenge these redundancies, and we would urge anyone impacted to reach out to us for legal support.’
A spokesperson for BrewDog said: ‘We can confirm that following a review of our bars business we have made the difficult decision to close 10 bars – which reflects a more focused strategy and a rationalisation of our bar footprint.
‘Despite our best efforts, and the hard work of our teams, it has simply not been possible to make these bars commercially viable.
‘We are working hard to minimise the impact on our people, and we expect to redeploy many affected team members across the BrewDog network.
‘For those leaving the business, we’re providing as much support as possible during this transition.’
BrewDog is on its third CEO in just over a year after James Watt stepped back from the role in May 2024, three months after Ofcom rejected a complaint he had lodged against the BBC after it made a documentary outlining misconduct allegations.
He then married Made In Chelsea media personality Georgia Toffolo earlier this year, and has become a frequent critic of the Labour government on his regularly updated LinkedIn profile.
The self-described BrewDog ‘Captain’ faced a number of improper conduct allegations in 2021 concerning female staff, and was revealed to have invested in Heineken, contrasting with his brewery’s anti-establishment ‘punk’ image.
Months before he quit, he announced that the firm would paying staff the ‘real’ Living Wage as calculated by the Resolution Foundation as it struggled to turn a profit.
The firm is continuing to weather accusations of an image problem after ditching its claim to be ‘carbon negative’ after it ditched offsetting schemes that it claimed were both too expensive and not efficient enough to justify the label.
It had already been criticised for using the ‘negative’ label by advertising watchdogs, and was slammed by environmentalists for its claim of creating a carbon-offsetting forest in Scotland after it was revealed half of the 500,000 saplings had already died.
Despite this, CEO James Taylor told the Grocer last month that he did not believe the firm had an image problem.
He said: ‘It’s boring to focus on data, but the data says consumers think of us as a business that produces really high-quality beer. That’s how we’re perceived by the vast majority of the public.’
