Craft brewer BrewDog launches UK record £25m crowdfunding appeal

Independent craft brewer BrewDog has launched a UK record crowdfunding appeal with a target of £25m as it pursues an ambitious expansion scheme in the UK and abroad.

The Aberdeenshire-based brewery, which raised £4.25m in its most recent crowdfunding round ending in December 2013, said it was offering 526,316 shares with a minimum investment of £95 for two shares. It said the capital would be used to expand its brewery and international bar division, as well as to fund new projects such as a craft beer hotel and a distillation plant.

BrewDog is selling the shares on its own platform, Equity for Punks, rather than through an equity crowdfunding site such as Crowdcube. Capitalising on a worldwide enthusiasm for craft beers, the company recorded turnover of more than £29.6m in 2014, up from £18m the previous year.

However, an equity crowdfunding programme on this scale has never been attempted before. Last year, only £84m was raised in total in the UK via equity crowdfunding, according to the innovation charity Nesta.

"We are not Rockefeller. We are Guy Fawkes," said James Watt, BrewDog co-founder, as the appeal was announced on Wednesday at the company's own bar in Shepherd's Bush, London. "We are putting the fat cats out to pasture and empowering everyone to be masters of their own destiny by investing in our passion for craft beer."

He added: "Equity for Punks puts the people who really care about our beer in control and keeps the passion and integrity in people's beer glasses."

Although the sector is minuscule by traditional investment standards, equity crowdfunding - as opposed to its alternative finance cousins, donation-based crowdfunding or peer-to-peer lending - has grown enormously in popularity as traditional bank lending retreated after the financial crisis.

It is typically used by small companies or start-ups, who as well as a share in the group also offer rewards to shareholders such as free or discounted products in return for their investment.

Founded in 2007, BrewDog exports to 55 countries and has opened 27 bars, with more planned this year for the UK, Berlin and Rome.

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