THE Isle of Arran Brewery is about to launch a public share offering.
An initial offering next month will aim to raise £3.75 million by targeting high net worth individuals, who will be asked to invest a minimum of £50,000.
A so-called ‘cloud flotation’ will then be launched later in the year, giving people the chance to invest in the brewery for as little as £200.
Inspired by the Brewdog ‘equity for punks’ scheme, the ultimate aim is to raise £10m, which the Arran firm hopes will fund a ten-fold expansion of brewing capacity on the island, a new bottling hall on the mainland and allow it to invest in pubs.
Writing exclusively for SLTN, managing director Gerald Michaluk, makes the case for Scots operators to get involved.
It is critical that publicans benefit so they are motivated to invest in the Arran Brewery.
The management team have thought long and hard about what benefits (other than the obvious shareholder profit motivation) that will attract hard pressed, hard-nosed, publicans to invest in our business.
We want the investor-brewery relationship to make the Arran Brewery stronger and more responsive to the communities it serves.
The brewery must be part of the community and the pub is at the heart of the community, so that is why we need our shareholders to be on both sides of the bar.
We don’t want to sell our beer to shareholders only through supermarkets or pubcos – we want to sell our excellent craft beer and ales though free houses where both sides of the bar feel an affiliation to our brands and there is no stronger affiliation than ownership.
We hope the publican will benefit by attracting new shareholders – customers who want to drink their beer in their local while the new customers benefit from having their beer available to drink responsibly in the safe, social environment of the pub.
To this end, you, the publican, who becomes a shareholder and registers as a publican will be treated as if you were our own bar – regardless of the size of their investment – thus getting the very best pricing that we can possibly offer.
We will not sell to a pubco for less than we sell to you and that’s a promise.
You will get support packages and merchandising packs as well as the ability to broadcast news of events and special promotions through our shareholder website.
We will work with you to promote our brands and encourage other shareholders to support your business. You will be included in regional and national promotions if you choose and have access to our helpline, technical, training and consultancy support.
So we think there is a lot in it for publicans and I very much hope you will share in our success by becoming shareholders in the Arran Brewery and registering as an Arran Brewery publican.
Image – Arran brewery chief Gerald Michaluk wants to ensure its ales are sold in free houses.
