Brewdog to open more bars and move into cider
BREWDOG has unveiled plans to open six new Scottish bars before the end of this year, as the Ellon-based firm continues to expand at home and overseas.
The new outlets, announced at its recent AGM, will be in Edinburgh Airport, Inverurie, Perth, Peterhead and St Andrews as well as Glasgow; its third venue in the city will have ten home-brewing kits for customers to brew their own beer.
A further four outlets will be opened in England this year – one in Manchester and three in London; while, globally, Brewdog expects to launch two bars in Columbus, Ohio, close to the brewery it opened in the city last year, and a further five outlets in locations such as Paris and Seoul, South Korea.
An estimated 8000 of the brewer’s Equity Punk investors attended Brewdog’s ninth AGM earlier this month, which was held at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
Brewdog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie also announced that the firm has now fully acquired London-based cider maker, Hawkes.
The cidery was founded five years ago by Simon Wright and has expanded its portfolio to six products, including Urban Orchard Apple Cider and Graff, which is said to be the UK’s first co-fermented hybrid of beer and cider.
Brewdog said the Hawkes brand name, label design and existing staff will all be retained and benefit from “support from its senior team and resources to help grow the brand and business both in the UK and internationally”.
Watt said: “Hawkes has grown a distinctive, bold and innovative business in an industry full of conformity, timidity and tradition.
“Our additional firepower will not only enable Hawkes to expand the reach of its incredible ciders, but also provide the opportunity to really make an indelible mark on the evolution of cider in the UK.”
Unveiling the firm’s financial results, the founders claimed 2017 had been a “banner year” for the business, with sales up 78% and overall revenue increasing by 55% on 2016.
