Lord’s Cricket Ground, West Ham, EY among creditors owed £190m by Brewdog
Lord’s Cricket Club, West Ham United and Big Four accounting firm EY are among the big-name firms which are owed £190m by Brewdog.
The craft beer firm collapsed earlier this year and its administrators have said that its unsecured creditors, who are owed £189.9m, will not be paid back.
AlixPartners, Brewdog’s administrators, said there are “insufficient funds” available to pay the group’s debts in full, which include unpaid wages, taxes and overdue bills from a string of other businesses.
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which is based at the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground, is one of Brewdog’s biggest creditors, owed £420,000. In March, MCC ended its partnership with the brewer after just one season.
Brewdog owes more than £2.9m to Ardagh Metal Packaging, a metal can supplier, and £360,000 to EY, a leading accounting firm which has acted as the company’s auditor.
Championship football club West Ham United is on the hook for £12,000. In 2025, Brewdog was announced as the club’s official beer partner. The deal means Hammers fans are served Brewdog beers on matchdays and can get 10 per cent off at its online store.
Meta, the tech firm which owns Facebook and Instagram, is among Brewdog’s biggest creditors. It was left owing £120,574, according to accounts published on Thursday.
Brewing giant Molson Coors is owed £98,386, while Dutch brewer Heineken is facing a £7,914 shortfall from Brewdog’s collapse.
Alongside its pubs business, Brewdog sold its hugely popular beers – which include Punk IPA and Elvis Juice – in supermarkets across the country. But its collapse has left some of these grocers with four-figure debts, it has emerged.
Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket, is owed £3,862 while Sainsbury’s, its biggest competitor, is owed £5,270.
Other unsecured creditors to Brewdog include: Microsoft, which is owed £35,085; Aberdeen City Council, £11,448; and parcel firm DHL, £1,968.
Equity punks snubbed in takeover
Earlier this year, US cannabis and drinks company Tilray snapped up Brewdog for just £33m, marking the end of a dramatic downfall for the beer firm, which was once valued at £1bn.
The deal saw Tilray acquire some of Brewdog’s bars and its Scottish brewing headquarters but did not include most of its bars, meaning 38 closed and 440 staff lost their jobs.
Brewdog kickstarted the UK’s craft beer craze when it was founded by Watt and Martin Dickie, his school friend, in 2007.
The brewer and bar operator surged to fame with the help of its “equity punk” investors, who bought small stakes in the group in exchange for beer-related perks.
The firm’s “equity punk” investors were left without a return from its sale, and Watt has since sought to regain the confidence of these shareholders by offering them free stakes in his recent ventures.
An Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said: “We will deal directly with our debtor.”