BrewDog boss James Watt to give away £100m in shares to staff

BrewDog is to hand out just under £100m worth of shares to staff and launch its first profit sharing scheme after promising to improve the culture within the business.

Co-founder and chief executive James Watt (pictured) is to donate 5% of his stake in the business to 750 salaried team members.

Based on the most recent fundraising valuation of £1.8b, the share award will be worth around £30,000 a year over four years to each crew member when the scheme begins in June.

It will mean BrewDog’s salaried staff and ‘Equity for Punks’ shareholders will own 25% of the company’s shares, the biggest stake in the business, between them.

BrewDog, which was founded in Aberdeenshire in 2007, employs over 2,200 people worldwide.

The company has also pledged to change how its bars operate and will now share 50% of profits with team members.

It comes after more than 100 former employees signed 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.

BrewDog’s share giveaway was announced in a document setting out its ‘Blueprint’ for the future to mark its 15th anniversary.

Watt said: “These radical new initiatives are about ensuring we win together and fully recognise the hard work that our fantastic team puts into our business.”

He added: “The road ahead is going to be exciting, but it won’t be easy. Redefining an industry never is.”