A Fraserburgh craft beer firm has confirmed plans to generate ?2.2million from private investors to develop a state-of-the-art carbon neutral brewery in the North-east.
BrewDog are offering customers the chance to buy shares of their ever-expanding operations – giving shareholders the opportunity to have “creative influence” over the business, as well as a discounts in their bars and online shop.
The new investment offer – Equity For Punks II – will be used to expand BrewDog’s current two-strong bar portfolio to locations throughout the UK and to develop a new carbon neutral brewery on the outskirts of Aberdeen.
The FSA-accredited scheme will see 10,000 shares made available to buy in ?95 packages from the company’s website.
Managing director James Watt said it was an opportunity for fans of the famous BrewDog beers to help the business “redefine” the UK beer scene.
He hailed the new shareholder project a “new kind of business model” for the 21st century.
He said: “The idea for people to buy a stake in our company was born out of the recession, when the banks are not lending, smaller companies have got to find innovative ways to raise finance to grow their business. This is people’s chance to come on this amazing journey with us and we can try and redefine the UK beer scene together.
“The reason for raising the money is to build a new production facility just outside Aberdeen. We have got the land, we have got the planning consent and we want to build an eco-friendly brewery which is completely carbon-neutral.
“So as well as expanding our production capacity, it’s going to be a flagship for renewable energy.”
This is the second time the company has offered people the chance to buy shares in the business.
In 2009, BrewDog pioneered the original share scheme Equity For Punks raising around ?670,000 from more than 1500 investors when it launched.
But this fell short of the ?2.3million target earmarked to develop an eco-friendly brewery.
Mr Watt said that the development of a carbon-neutral brewery is essential for the business as they do not want to have a “negative impact” on the environment.
He added that they want to combine the enthusiasm people have for their infamous beers with an environmentally-friendly brewery.
He said: “I think the environment is becoming more and more important and we want to showcase what beer can be, we want to get people excited about great beers, but we also don’t want to have a negative impact on the environment when doing our business, so it’s definitely two things we can combine.
“This is a chance for people to buy their own beers in shops and bars and we want people to feel involvement in what we do. We have been growing at 200% as business over the last three years since we started, so as well as buying into our future growth potential it should be a fun journey for investors, too.”
It is understood BrewDog is on track for a turnover of ?6.5million in 2011.
Mr Watt added: “Over the next few years you can expect more controversy – we want to continue pushing the boundaries, taking innovation and beer to places where it has never been before.
“We just want to get people excited about good beer. We set up the company with a mission to make other people as passionate about great draught beer as we are and that is definitely the mission that we are sticking to.”