Opinion | BrewDog's founder says he's 'heartbroken' over firm's collapse, but staff have heard it before

When BrewDog co-founder James Watt posted on LinkedIn this week saying he was “heartbroken” over the loss of hundreds of jobs at the company he helped build, the message was clearly intended as a moment of reflection.

After all, the scale of the collapse is significant. BrewDog - once valued at around £2 billion and celebrated as one of Britain’s most disruptive craft beer success stories - has been sold to US drinks and cannabis group Tilray for £33 million, with 484 jobs lost and 38 bars closed.

For Watt, who co-founded the business in 2007 and led it for 17 years, the emotional tone of the message is understandable. He wrote that he had dedicated “the best 20 years of my life” to building BrewDog and admitted that “during my 17 years in charge there were highs, lows, successes, failures, huge gambles and many mistakes along the way.”

Running a company that grows from a garage start-up into a global brand employing thousands is no small feat. BrewDog’s early years were a case study in entrepreneurial ambition: bold marketing, rapid expansion and a cult-like community of supporters known as “equity punks”.