Tilray Brands has ruled out selling BrewDog after co-founder James Watt launched a bid to buy back the brewer, saying the business is “not for sale”.
Speaking to Retail Gazette at BrewDog Waterloo ahead of England’s World Cup semi-final, Tilray chairman and CEO Irwin Simon said the company remained focused on investing in the brand rather than ownership speculation.
“BrewDog is not for sale,” Simon said. “If anything, we’re here to really take this to a whole other level around the world.”
His comments come after Watt revealed he had made an offer to buy BrewDog back, months after the company was acquired by Tilray. In an email to supporters of his new beer brand, Second Best, Watt said former “Equity for Punks” investors would receive shares in BrewDog if his bid succeeded.
Asked whether the ongoing attention around BrewDog’s former leadership made it harder to run the business, Simon said: “What James did is irrelevant to me. I take care of our employees, our customers, our vendors and our partners. They see what we’re doing with BrewDog.”
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Simon also said Tilray had restored confidence across BrewDog’s supply chain following the brewer’s financial difficulties.
“As BrewDog was going through its financial challenges, keeping up with the supply of ingredients caused vendors to be concerned with credit,” he said. “That’s no longer the case.”
He added that the business was investing in its breweries, with plants running “around the clock” to meet demand, while service levels are now above 98%.
Speaking as hundreds of fans gathered to watch England’s match, Simon said BrewDog’s football campaigns had driven strong trading, with bar sales up more than 30% year on year.
The event followed BrewDog’s announcement that it would have offer a £1m free bar tab if England, Scotland or the United States had reached the FIFA World Cup final.
Although ultimately unsuccessful, with England crashing out of the World Cup on Wednesday evening, Simon described the campaign as both a celebration for supporters and a major marketing success.
“We’ve had over 300 million hits around the world from this campaign,” he said. “I love the idea that we’re giving back to supporters.”
On future product innovation, Simon also suggested Tilray sees potential for hemp-based drinks in the UK. The company already sells CBD drinks in the US and THC beverages in Canada.
“I think there’s a big opportunity for that in the UK,” he said, although he stopped short of confirming any BrewDog product launch.
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