James Watt, the co-founder of Brewdog, is facing complaints to the UK data watchdog after he reportedly contacted former shareholders as part of his efforts to buy back the craft brewer. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) confirmed it was “assessing” information following complaints related to Watt.
Watt, who stepped down as chief executive in 2024 to become the company's “captain and co-founder,” tabled a bid on Wednesday to retake control of Brewdog through his new beer firm, Second Best. He claimed that 43,000 so-called equity punk investors had joined forces for the bid, which would cover the company's entire UK and Australian operations, excluding its US arm.
“James Watt faces ICO complaints after contacting former shareholders in bid to buy back collapsed Brewdog.”
The move came just months after US drinks firm Tilray took over Brewdog in a deal worth about £33m, following the company's collapse with debts of more than £500m that led to hundreds of job losses. The administration process saw Brewdog shut 36 bars, while the takeover rendered the shares of about 200,000 crowdfunding investors worthless. Tilray bought Brewdog's brand, intellectual property, UK breweries and 11 bars.
However, earlier this week Tilray bosses stressed that the brand was not for sale and planned to reject Watt's takeover efforts. A spokesman for Tilray said the company did not acquire equity investor data as part of its acquisition and that the records system remains under the control of Brewdog plc (in administration). The spokesman added: “Tilray Brands (trading as BrewDog) and its current management team have no involvement in, affiliation with, or responsibility for James Watt's business activities, including Second Best.”
The Guardian reported that a number of shareholders contacted by Watt said they did not understand how he had their contact details, raising concerns about a potential breach of the general data protection regulation (GDPR). The ICO, which oversees data privacy rules, said: “We are aware of an incident involving Brewdog and we are assessing the information provided.”
Watt co-founded Brewdog with Martin Dickie in Aberdeenshire in 2007. At its peak, the company had four breweries, about 100 pubs worldwide and was said to be worth more than $1bn. The outcome of the ICO's assessment and Watt's bid remains uncertain.