Independent Scottish brewer BrewDog is trying to raise £4m by selling shares directly to beer drinkers through its pioneering crowdfunding scheme.
Under the scheme, dubbed ‘Equity for Punks’, the company will make 42,000 shares available to anyone, at £95 each. They can be bought online.
Having previously raised £2.2m through Equity for Punks in 2011, the company now plans to raise almost double that figure to fund an expansion of its brewery, its burgeoning bar division and a new series of bottle shops across the UK.
As well as owning part of the BrewDog business, Equity for Punks shareholders also get a lifetime 5% discount at BrewDog’s bars and a 20% discount on its website BrewDog.com.
Commenting on the scheme, co-founder James Watt said: “This is the world’s biggest independent crowdfunding initiative. It proves that there is a viable alternative to the financial establishment, and as the self-interested banks continue to stunt economic growth, people are looking for better places to put their money.”
He added: “With Equity for Punks, beer fans are able to become part of a revolution – not just redefining beer in the UK, but shifting the balance of power away from the banks and back into the hands of the people.”
BrewDog employs 187 staff and is expected to turn over £20m in 2013.
Sally Percy is editor of The Treasurer