Brewdog founder James Watt hits out at ‘total silence’ over new venture
Brewdog co-founder James Watt has hit out at the “total silence” surrounding his latest venture, a drink designed to prevent hangovers.
The craft beer tycoon wrote on LinkedIn: “Normally, if I cough loudly, three journalists file copy about it. Yesterday we did a world first and the press said nothing.
“Not a peep. Total silence,” he added.
Watt has launched a number of new projects following his failure to prevent Brewdog being sold to US cannabis Tilray, in a deal which caused the closure of dozens of its UK pubs.
The American firm bought the beer firm he founded for just £33m in March – a fraction of the £2bn valuation the company notched in 2020.
Watt later revealed he had sought to prevent Tilray’s takeover with his own bid, which he claimed would have saved hundreds of jobs and reinstated the Real Living Wage.
In July, the Scottish businessman offered to buy Brewdog back from Tilray, but the bid was brushed off by the US firm and Watt has not mentioned it since.
Watt courts ‘equity punks’
In the months since Brewdog’s sale, Watt has sought to regain the confidence of the thousands of “equity punks” whose investments in the craft beer firm helped it dominate the UK’s beer market.
The amateur investors missed out on a return from the beer firm’s sale to Tilray, and Watt has offered shares in his new beer firm, named Second Best, to these equity holders for free.
Watt’s new venture, Fool’s Fix, also includes free stakes for former “equity punks” who have claimed their shares in Second Best.
He is also offering a 10 per cent stake in the soft drink brand to its first 20,000 customers, in what he claims is “an experiment in building a company completely differently”.
“If you buy Fool’s Fix from our website you have the opportunity to claim 100 Founding Shares and become a co-owner of this brand-new business. For free,” Watt said.
“Hopefully, together, we can create a new template for launching consumer businesses and build Fool’s Fix into a leading global recovery brand.”
Watt founded Brewdog in 2007 alongside school friend Martin Dickie. The brand, which created beers including Punk IPA and Elvis Juice, kickstarted the UK’s craft beer craze.
Both co-founders had stepped away from the company ahead of its sale following allegations – fiercely denied by the founders – of a toxic workplace and a “cult of personality” around Watt.
Brewdog’s chief executive, James Taylor, quit Brewdog last month after little more than a year in the role. Tilray is not set to replace him.
Watt did not respond to a request for comment.