‘How has this joker got my details?’ That was the question Marc Knox, a former Brewdog equity punk investor, asked himself after receiving an email from the brewer’s co-founder James Watt last Sunday. Knox is one of several former shareholders to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over how Watt obtained their contact details, triggering a data privacy investigation.
Watt, who co-founded Brewdog with Martin Dickie in Aberdeenshire in 2007, stepped down as chief executive in 2024 to become the brand’s ‘captain and co-founder’. In March, US cannabis and drinks firm Tilray bought Brewdog’s brand, intellectual property, UK breweries and 11 bars for £33m after the company collapsed with debts of more than £500m, rendering the shares of more than 200,000 crowdfunding investors worthless. The administration process also shut 36 bars and led to hundreds of job losses.
“James Watt faces ICO complaints after contacting former Brewdog shareholders for his buy-back bid.”
On Wednesday, Watt unexpectedly announced a bid to buy back the Scottish craft beer company through his new venture, Second Best, claiming 43,000 equity punk investors had joined forces. As part of the audacious proposal, he emailed thousands of shareholders, offering them the ‘exact same stake in Second Best that you once held in BrewDog, for free’.
Several recipients complained they did not understand how Watt had their contact details, raising concerns about a potential breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The ICO said it was ‘assessing the information provided’. A spokesperson confirmed: ‘We are aware of an incident involving Brewdog and we are assessing the information provided.’
Knox, who said he was prepared to take a complaint to the watchdog, told the Guardian: ‘I got the email last Sunday and I kind of laughed. I wasn’t thinking about complaining but I talked to a friend, looked online and saw there were lots of people saying the same thing: “How has this joker got my details?”’
Watt denied any wrongdoing. ‘A communication was sent to my fellow shareholders in BrewDog following legal advice, using lawfully obtained data, and in connection with their legitimate interests as shareholders,’ he said. He did not explain how he obtained the data.
Tilray, meanwhile, stressed that the brand was not for sale. A spokesman said the company did not acquire equity punk shareholder data as part of its acquisition and ‘did not authorise, facilitate, or participate in the communications reportedly sent to former Equity for Punks investors’. The ICO, which can impose fines for GDPR breaches, is now considering the complaints.