BrewDog narrows operating losses to under £37m

BrewDog has cut its losses by 38% year-on-year in the 12 months to 31 December 2024.

The pub and brewing group notified its shareholders, known as ‘equity punks’, that it posted a £36.6m loss before tax last year – an improvement on 2023’s £59.2m, but far short of a rumoured return to profit. After tax, BrewDog was still £34.5m in the red.

According to The Guardian, BrewDog’s shareholder statement played down the significance of stalling revenues and persistent pre-tax losses, pointing to its preferred “adjusted” profit before interest payments and tax, totalling £7.5m. It said this earnings figure showed the group had “returned to profitability for the first time in several years”.

Revenue proved stagnant at £357m, less than 1% up on 2023’s £354.6m.

BrewDog’s largest shareholder, private equity investor TSG Consumer Partners, has now agreed to lend it a further £20m.

James Taylor, BrewDog’s third chief executive in a year, aimed to put a positive spin on the results, saying the company had “achieved our highest ever share of the UK beer market, selling the equivalent of 4.5 cans of beer every second in UK supermarkets”.

Last month, BrewDog’s co-founder Martin Dickie left the business, a year after fellow co-founder Watt stepped down from running day-to-day operations as chief executive.

BrewDog operates around 120 bars, hotels and venues worldwide and employs more than 2,700 people.

In July it closed 10 bars, including its Aberdeen flagship, with the group blaming challenging market conditions.

There have been questions about the group’s future after The Telegraph reported that BrewDog’s beers have been dropped from nearly 2,000 pubs, cutting its distribution by a third.

However, the company said it was still finding success with smaller pubs, sports venues, festivals and events.

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