The Times, 16 February, BrewDog crowdfunders could be nursing losses after sale

The The Times feature highlights ShareSoc’s perspective on retail shareholder protection.

The Times reports on the potential sale of BrewDog, following the appointment of restructuring specialists at AlixPartners, and the risk that any deal could prioritise its private equity backer TSG Consumer Partners, which holds a 21 per cent stake. The article notes that BrewDog’s 220,000 “Equity Punks” investors may be left empty handed if larger stakeholders are paid first.

The article quotes ShareSoc Director Mark Northway, who said, “Sadly, BrewDog is a cautionary tale. Early-stage investors take huge amounts of risk. If things go well, they often get diluted or subordinated by large funding rounds; if things go badly they get wiped out.” He added that either a sale or debt restructuring, while “inevitable”, will “likely wipe out shareholders given their structural subordination”.

As scrutiny intensifies over the treatment of crowdfunding investors in high profile corporate restructurings, the piece highlights the structural risks retail shareholders face when institutional capital sits ahead of them in the funding stack.

Click here to read the article.