Small investors turn on James Watt after BrewDog co-founder admits ‘many mistakes’

Small investors turn on James Watt after BrewDog co-founder admits ‘many mistakes’ 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. Watt also said he was “heartbroken” for the 484 staff who lost their jobs in the deal, after Tilray opted to buy only 11 of BrewDog’s bars, leaving 38 having to close their doors. “During my 17 years in charge there were highs, lows, successes, failures, huge gambles and many mistakes along the way,” said Watt. “Ultimately, the mistakes hurt far more than the successes console,” he added. “I would have loved to save every single job and every single equity punk investment. Ultimately, I couldn’t. That will stay with me.” Unite, the trade union, has already criticised the “national disgrace” of the sale, conducted via a pre-pack administration that involved the administrators, Alix Partners, agreeing a sale to Tilray before declaring insolvency, at a cost of nearly 500 jobs. On Wednesday, one LinkedIn user, Fraser Campbell, said Watt had “walked away with £50m from the TSG deal, whil...