Craft beer titan BrewDog has engaged restructuring experts AlixPartners to oversee a potential sale or breakup of the company. This strategic move aims to secure new investment to bolster the long-term strength and sustainability of the Scotland-based brewer, which operates in a challenging economic environment. BrewDog, renowned for its craft beers such as Punk IPA and Elvis Juice, has initiated a structured and competitive process to evaluate its next phase of investment, though no final decisions regarding a sale have been made.

The appointment of advisers follows a period of considerable financial strain for BrewDog. The company has reported cumulative pre-tax losses totaling £148 million over five consecutive years of decline, including a £37 million loss announced in May 2024. In response, BrewDog has implemented "decisive action" focusing on cost control and operating efficiencies. This involved the closure of ten bars across the UK in July last year, including its inaugural pub in Gallowgate, Aberdeen, and more recently, the decision to close its distilling brands to refocus solely on beer products, a move that raised concerns about job security at its Ellon facility in Aberdeenshire.

This corporate restructuring also coincides with the departure of co-founder James Watt from his chief executive role in May 2024, after 17 years at the helm. Watt has since transitioned into the newly created position of 'captain and co-founder'. Watt has frequently been at the center of controversies, including a sarcastic Instagram post where he claimed to be the 'worst boss in the world'. In 2021, former workers accused BrewDog of fostering a 'culture of fear' and 'toxic attitudes' towards junior employees. Further allegations of inappropriate behavior and abuse of power by Watt were made by former BrewDog USA workers in 2022, claims which his lawyers denied. An Ofcom complaint regarding a documentary exposing these alleged behaviors was dismissed in February 2024.

Additional controversies have impacted BrewDog, such as its 2024 announcement that it would no longer hire new workers on the real living wage, instead opting to pay below the legal minimum wage. James Watt's personal spending also garnered attention, notably a lavish stag do in December 2024 in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, where he and his party racked up a bill of nearly £159,000 on rare whiskies, including ten Laphroaigs from the 1940s and 15 tots of 50-year-old Balvenie. Despite the company's financial woes, an August 2025 estimate valued Watt and his reality TV star wife, Georgia Toffolo, at a combined £425 million, largely derived from BrewDog's success.

BrewDog, founded in 2007 by James Watt and Martin Dickie, rose to prominence through innovative marketing and highly publicized stunts, such as riding a tank through the City of London and projecting Watt's naked image onto the Houses of Parliament. Currently, the company operates 72 bars globally and four breweries across Ellon (UK), the US, Australia, and Germany, employing approximately 1,400 people. Despite the ongoing process to seek new investment, BrewDog emphasizes its standing as a "global pioneer in craft beer" and the "number one independent brewer in the UK" with a highly engaged global community.