Thu 2nd Apr 2015 - BrewDog reports sixth year of record growth BrewDog reports sixth year of record growth: Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog has unveiled its sixth consecutive year of record growth, having increased its annual turnover by 64% to over £29.6 million in 2014, compared with £18 million in 2013. The brewery also increased its annual profit by 69% from £2.9 million in 2013 to £4.9 million last year. In 2014, BrewDog launched a total of 12 new bars, taking its global bar count to 26. In addition to launching six new UK bars in Liverpool, Cardiff, Dundee, Sheffield, Clapham Junction and Ellon, the brewery also launched six international bars last year, including Tokyo, São Paulo, Gothenburg, Florence, Bologna and Helsinki. The brewery now exports to 55 countries around the world and employs 360 people. Last year BrewDog expanded its brewery in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, adding new fermentation capacity, building new office buildings and its on-site bar, DogTap. 2014 also saw the brewery open its first craft beer bottle shop, BottleDog, last April in London’s Kings Cross area. The venue houses over 250 craft beers as well as stocking a wide range of homebrewing equipment and ingredients. BrewDog plans to launch a series of BottleDog sites this year. Last year the Scottish brewery launched the ground-breaking BrewDog Development Fund, allocating up to £100,000 of its annual profits to helping other craft breweries get established. In 2014 BrewDog provided financial support and mentoring to London-based Brew by Numbers and CAP brewery from Stockholm, and will assist more breweries in 2015 as part of the initiative. The brewery also become a Living Wage Employer in 2014 making an unprecedented commitment to the wellbeing of its UK employees by guaranteeing to pay at least the living wage calculated for their location. This year has already seen the brewery launch its first bar in Spain, with BrewDog Barcelona, with many more bars launches planned in the UK and overseas, including Brighton, Norwich, Leicester, Berlin and Rome. It also launched its new import and distribution arm in January following an exclusive deal agreed with Stone Brewing Co. BrewDog’s growth is due in part to its crowdfunding scheme ‘Equity for Punks’. The brewery closed a third round of the scheme in December 2013, after raising £4.25 million from investors. James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog, said: “2014 was an epic year for BrewDog and the craft beer industry as a whole. Not only did we continue to grow at breakneck speed and secure more footholds of craft beer awesomeness all around the world, but we were able to improve processes and efficiencies to ensure we deliver the optimum flavour experience every time. Our growth has shown that with a healthy disregard for the impossible you can achieve anything. When we launched in 2007, we never expected to be where we are today, but our success continues to prove that there is an insatiable thirst for great craft beer, and a huge opportunity for businesses doing things differently to thrive in challenging economic times. Our mission has always been to make other people as passionate about great craft beer as we are. The more people making, serving and drinking amazing craft beer, the better. The BrewDog Development Fund is about putting our money where our mouth is and helping new breweries thrive. BrewDog is committed to being the best employer, ever. The living wage is one of many initiatives we are implementing to ensure the passion and dedication of our awesome team is always rewarded. We have done well so far, but we are just getting warmed up. For 2015 we have mammoth plans that will really set the world alight. You ain’t seen nothing yet. BrewDog is nothing without its Equity Punks. Those 14,568 shareholders are what drive the business and we will continue to repay their trust and loyalty to us by brewing fantastic beers and spreading the craft beer revolution to all corners of the globe.”