Brewdog receives more than 1,000 applications following profit share announcement

BrewDog has received more than 1,000 job applications since founder and chief executive James Watt announced he would be donating a fifth of his personal stake in the company to team members as well as launching a profit-sharing scheme for the group’s bar and hotel workers.

Under the plans, Watt has said he will donate a 5% stake in the business, worth £100m at BrewDog’s most recent fundraising valuation, to BrewDog’s 750 salaried crew members, representing just over a fifth of his personal stake in the Scottish brewer, founded in 2007.

Based on the most recent fundraising valuation of £1.8b, the giveaway of more than 3.7 million shares will be worth around £30,000 a year over four years to each crew member when the scheme begins in June. BrewDog also announced it will be sharing 50% of its profits with its team members.

Since launching the blueprint, BrewDog said it had received more than 100 applicants a day for a variety of roles across the business, up by a factor of four from previous weeks.

James Brown, managing director of BrewDog hospitality, said: “We are thrilled so many people are choosing to apply to progress their careers with us. It’s no secret the market is very competitive for the best talent. In launching the Blueprint, which included a major equity share scheme and a revolutionary profit share for our bar teams, we believe we are now setting the standard in the hospitality sector.

“These new initiatives build on our other benefits, not least pawternity, our sabbatical scheme, mental health support, our safe ride home scheme, sustainable pensions and we are committed to being a real living wage employer. We are confident we can provide varied, fulfilling and long-term careers for our people and very much look forward to welcoming new talent to the company.”

BrewDog is also set to launch a recruitment programme to hire more than 200 employees for its global flagship Waterloo bar opening in late summer. The 26,500sq ft bar on London’s South Bank will be the biggest BrewDog location in the world.

The business has announced investment into and expansion of its HR, people and culture teams in response to more than 100 former employees signing an open letter last summer accusing BrewDog of fostering a "culture of fear" within the business.

The group claimed a "significant number" of staff had suffered mental illness with many feeling "pressured into working beyond their capacity".

The company hired consultancy firm Wiser to conduct a review of the business and admitted it had "made mistakes". Watt said he took "personal responsibility" for the situation.