Watt apologises to 200,000-plus ‘equity punks’ who joined crowdfunding rounds but were left empty-handed after cut-price sale
The co-founder of BrewDog, James Watt, met with short shrift from small investors who have been left empty-handed by the company’s sale for just £33m, after he admitted to “many mistakes”.
Watt issued a mea culpa via the professional social networking site LinkedIn, a platform he has regularly used to espouse political views, including complaints about the level of tax he is asked to pay.
The multimillionaire and self-styled punk apologised to more than 200,000 “equity punks”, who invested £75m in the business through multiple crowdfunding rounds but received nothing from its sale to the US cannabis and drinks company Tilray Brands.
They lost out partly owing to the terms of an earlier 22% investment by the private equity group TSG, which involved Watt and his co-founder Martin Dickie cashing out to the tune of £100m but left crowdfunding investors with little chance of a return.
