BrewDog raised £13.5m so far, plans US fund-raising: BrewDog has reported that its current round of crowdfunding has raised £13.5m so far, with a total 20,335 new investors buying shares. The average share investment to date per person is £525.55. The company stated: “From the day (and night) of the first brew of Punk IPA in our original Fraserburgh home to where we are today, none of it would be possible without the support of the tens of thousands of people who are now integral to the running of our company; our shareholders. Their continued belief in our business, our people and our beer keeps us going.” The company is planning to launch a crowdfunding push in the US late this year. It stated: “Later this year we are further building our US community by giving our American fans the opportunity to invest in BrewDog USA (anybody who invests in Equity for Punks IV in Europe already owns a stake in BrewDog USA). Further details on the extension of our share offer to our friends in America will be released in due course.”

easyJet founder enters coffee market with Earls Court opening, plans 30 sites within three years: The parent company of low-cost airline easyJet has entered into the coffee market and is targeting 30 sites within three years. easyGroup, founded by Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has launched easyCoffee in partnership with Nathan Lowry, the director of Peoples Coffee, who has licensed the brand name. The first site – in its unmistakable orange branding – has opened at Earl’s Court underground station in west London and there are plans to roll out a chain of 30 shops over the next 24 to 36 months in stations and on the High Street. The price of the tea and coffee is £1 – whether it’s an espresso, a double macchiato or a cappuccino – and is served in one cup size. It also serves food, although prices are more aligned with what its rivals charge. Lowry told the Metro: “With coffee shop prices currently averaging £3 a cup, it is clear consumers have been taken for a ride. Although wholesale coffee prices have been falling recently consumers have seen no benefit. easyCoffee plans to make top quality beverages available to everyone at affordable prices.” Sir Stelios added the coffee industry had been allowed to elevate prices with “no good reason” and was “delighted” to be able to bring London “something very simple but yet so difficult to find: a great cup of Italian espresso coffee for just a pound”.

Jamie Oliver – don’t just pick on McDonald’s when it comes to ‘sugar tax’: Jamie Oliver said people should stop having a “poke” at McDonald’s, adding “the biggest enemy of school dinners is a lunch box”. The celebrity chef’s comments came after the World Health Organisation joined calls for a “sugar tax” on soft drinks and as the government prepared to issue a strategy for tackling obesity in the UK. Oliver called on small businesses to do their bit, while praising efforts made by McDonald’s. He told the Press Association: “McDonald’s has been doing more than most mid and small-sized businesses for the last ten years. Fact. But no one wants to talk about it. And I don’t work for them. I’m just saying they’ve been doing it – 100% organic milk, free-range eggs, looking at their British and Irish beef. My point is, everyone needs to do their bit. The corner shops need to do way more. We’ve got no standards for lunch boxes. The biggest enemy of school dinners is a lunch box. Teachers around the country are beside themselves, having to keep taking cans of Red Bull and Lucozade out of six, seven and eight-year-olds’ lunch boxes. But there’s no legislation that backs up a teacher to do such a thing.” A third of ten to 11-year-olds and more than a fifth of four to five-year-olds in England are overweight or obese. Oliver said the government’s sugar-tax decision would turn out to be David Cameron’s legacy. He said: “Ultimately, what he has to do is come up with a childhood obesity strategy that’s relevant, logical and fitting for the epidemic that we’re dealing with.”

JD Wetherspoon submits £1m proposal to transform Oldham town centre venue, pulls out of £1.5m pub and hotel plan in Hamilton: JD Wetherspoon, owner of the Squire Knott pub in Oldham city centre, has submitted plans to expand into an adjoining former nightclub and beer garden. The company also wants to demolish part of the rear of the nightclub and refurbish the Squire Knott as part of a £1m project. JD Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon told the Oldham Evening Chronicle: “The projected cost is more than £1m. If it gets the go-ahead we will agree a date and the pub will have to close for a time. The Squire Knott is extremely popular and we believe the work will give customers an even better pub.” Meanwhile, JD Wetherspoon confirmed it has pulled out of plans for a £1.5m pub, restaurant and 13-bedroom hotel in the Regents Centre in Hamilton, although the company said it was still keen to open in the Scottish town. JD Wetherspoon said it did not wish to comment on its reasons for withdrawing from the Bairds site, which has been empty since the store closed in February 2014.

Martin Thompson joins Fuller’s to head up on-trade accounts team: Martin Thompson has joined Fuller’s from Britvic to head up the brewer’s national accounts team for the on-trade, effective from monday (1 February). Thompson, whose title is national sales manager, had been channel director – leisure, licenced and foodservice retail at Britvic since September 2012. He will report to on-trade sales director Simon Treanor. Thompson began at Britvic as licenced retail controller in October 2008, joining from Coca-Cola Enterprises, where his roles included on premise account controller. He also previously worked for Diageo and Grand Metropolitan in both London and Brighton.