BrewDog to close down 10 sites this weekend

The world-famous Scottish brewer, BrewDog has announced it will close 10 bars this weekend, as it becomes the latest major employer to be hit by the ongoing crisis in the hospitality sector.

Over email, the new BrewDog CEO, James Taylor, informed staff that it was no longer viable to keep the sites open “due to their size, location and other limiting factors”.

Tax rises in April have devastated profit margins and led many pubs, bars, and restaurants to raise prices or cut jobs to survive. With a major player like BrewDog struggling to stay afloat, the closures are a warning signal to the rest of the industry.

Earlier this month, hospitality trade body the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said it expects 378 to close this year across the UK, representing more than one a day.

Which BrewDog bars are closing?

10 BrewDog bars are due to call last orders this Saturday. The affected sites are Dundee, Brighton, Leeds, Oxford, Sheffield, and York.

Three sites in London (Camden, Shoreditch, and Shepherd’s Bush) will also be shut down, as well as the company’s flagship bar in Aberdeen.

With sites in the US, Australia, and Dubai, the company currently employs around 3,000 people in its 71 UK bars. It is not yet clear how many BrewDog staff members could lose their jobs.

In a note to staff, Aberdeen Live reports that Taylor said: “Despite our best efforts, and the hard work of the teams in each of these bars, it has simply not been possible to find a formula to make these bars viable due to their size, location and other limiting factors.

“We have sadly concluded that there is no realistic prospect of making these venues commercially viable.”

NIC rise drains hospitality profits

While not referring to any specific “limiting factors”, there has been outcry in the sector over the increase in employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs), which came at the same time as a new hiked minimum wage. 

In hospitality, which has large workforces and tight profit margins, the combined cost increases have been a death knell for many businesses. Many have been forced to cut jobs in response.

Recent Global Payroll Alliance (GPA) analysis found that since the NIC announcement in the 2024 Autumn Budget, the number of PAYE employees in the UK has fallen by over 160,000. 

Last week, this was confirmed by the trade body UKHospitality, which said it had been the hardest-hit sector since the budget, accounting for 45% of all job losses.

Trouble at BrewDog

Today, BrewDog is well-known as a multinational brand and pub group. It was first founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, in 2007 via a £20k loan. In 2010, it featured in the Startups 100 Index and became a unicorn seven years later.

However, the firm faced accusations of a toxic workplace culture and inappropriate behaviour by Watt in 2022. Lawyers for Watt said the allegations were false. The company caused further controversy for its decision to stop being a Living Wage employer in 2023. 

More recently, there has been further trouble at the top for BrewDog. Watt departed the company in May to launch a reality TV show. James Arrow, who succeeded him, tapped out after less than a year, and Taylor took over the role in March. 

Aiming to be third CEO lucky, Taylor’s next move appears to be a consolidation of the business’ assets after it posted a pre-tax loss of £6.7m in 2023.

“This decision is not simply a response to the challenging UK hospitality market, but a proactive decision to redefine the bar division’s focus”, he added in his note to staff.

“As we evolve BrewDog into a more focused and sustainable business, we’ve had to be honest about where we are – and where we’re heading”, he added.