BrewDog has launched a structured sale process led by advisers, a step that could fragment the company after sustained losses, heavy debt and strategic retrenchment.
BrewDog has launched a formal sale process that could result in the business being broken up and sold in pieces. The Scottish brewer — best known for Punk IPA and Elvis Juice — has appointed restructuring firm AlixPartners to run a competitive marketing exercise, signaling a move from internal remedies to testing appetite in the wider market.
Why the advisers? After a gruelling stretch of losses and heavy impairments, BrewDog says it has brought in outside advisors to widen its options and pin down a realistic valuation. The group has reported losses for five straight years since turning a profit in, and a reported pre-tax loss in has tightened liquidity and amplified pressure from lenders.
With management’s negotiating leverage reduced, a market-led review gives the company a clearer way to surface serious offers — whether that means buyers prepared to take the whole business or investors interested in specific assets.
What the process could look like AlixPartners’ role typically opens the door to a spectrum of outcomes.
Bidders may be invited to propose full buyouts, partial acquisitions, asset-by-asset purchases, or structured refinancing and debt-for-equity swaps. In practice this could see the brewery operations, the pub and bars estate, and international distribution channels pitched separately. Advisers usually stage such processes: initial expressions of interest, a due diligence phase for shortlisted parties, then final offers — a structure that helps filter genuine bidders quickly and keeps the timetable moving.
Immediate drivers Sources point to several urgent triggers: looming covenant tests, refinancing needs and the imperative to safeguard the brand while options are explored. Management has already tightened costs and pursued operational changes this year, positioning the business to attract meaningful bids. No public timetable has been set, but creditors, institutional investors and BrewDog’s large retail shareholder base will be watching closely as advisers solicit bids and present strategic scenarios.
Operational and local impacts Alongside appointing advisers, BrewDog has closed its Ellon distillery in Aberdeenshire, which produced Lonewolf Gin and Abstrakt Vodka. The shutdown underscores a retrenchment to the company’s beer-making core and raises questions about jobs in the local community and the company’s international footprint. For employees and suppliers tied to the distillery, the closure is an immediate blow; for the brand, it signals a narrower focus as the company navigates its next steps.
What this means for investors and creditors For lenders and shareholders the review is a mixed prospect. A successful sales process could unlock value and stabilise the business, but a breakup risks dispersing the brand’s parts to different owners — a result that may produce uneven outcomes for small shareholders. Advisers will likely balance the goal of maximising proceeds with the need to deliver an orderly outcome for creditors and to preserve as many jobs and business lines as possible.
Sector context BrewDog’s struggles are not occurring in isolation. The drinks and hospitality sectors have faced shifting consumer habits, higher input costs and tighter financing conditions in recent years. Those headwinds have made highly leveraged or fast-expanding businesses more vulnerable, and have increased the appeal of consolidation or selective disposals to shore up balance sheets.
What happens next Expect a phased process: AlixPartners will contact potential bidders, invite initial interest, and then narrow the field for due diligence. As offers are collected and evaluated, management and advisers will lay out recommended structures — whether a single-sale, a series of asset transactions or a refinancing package. Public updates should follow at key milestones, though timing remains unspecified. The outcome could preserve the brand’s future under a new owner, or it could fragment the business into separate pieces — with important implications for employees, creditors and the many small investors who backed the company over the years. For now, all eyes are on the advisers as the sale process gets under way.
