Wed 31st Aug 2022 - BrewDog to shut six UK sites as co-founder James Watt lambasts ‘zombie’ government over lack of support on escalating costs BrewDog to shut six UK sites as co-founder James Watt lambasts ‘zombie’ government over lack of support on escalating costs: Scottish brewer and retailer BrewDog is to close six of its UK sites as escalating costs and the lack of government support hits the industry. BrewDog co-founder James Watt called on the government to “get a grip” with reality in the hospitality space “starting to bite and bite hard”. In a LinkedIn post, Watt said the opening of its largest site to date – at London’s Waterloo station – had exceeded the company’s expectations with more than 20,000 visitors in the first two weeks alone. But he said it was important “the success of Waterloo doesn’t blind us all to the reality we as a sector are facing”. Watt wrote: “Waterloo was amazing, but reality is biting – Liz/Rishi please stop the charade. Two weeks ago we celebrated the opening of our biggest bar – BrewDog Waterloo. From a personal perspective, it was an incredible week, and getting to share the opening night with nearly a thousand Equity Punks was a real privilege. It’s also the first new bar we’ve opened since the first Blueprint bonus was paid, meaning all the bar’s 200 brilliant, hardworking staff will receive 50% of the profits that the location generates. Waterloo has vastly exceeded even our ambitious expectations with more than 20,000 visitors in the first two weeks alone. The Waterloo bar in many epitomises where we want to evolve our bar estate. Of course not all our bars can have the scale of Waterloo, but we are looking to do something different with our bars – to provide incredible experiences for our wonderful, fun, loyal customers who want to drink a beautifully brewed beer, in a great environment, served by knowledgeable, passionate people with the option of the food we all love. And we have lots of new openings planned with more than 20 locations in construction and planning. But it’s important the success of Waterloo doesn’t blind us all to the reality we as a sector are facing, nor to the sheer ‘rabbit in the headlights’ paralysis of this zombie government, still intent on this bizarre leadership farce, instead of getting to grips with the kind of challenges that will result in more business causalities than the pandemic did. Industry experts estimate that up to a staggering 70% of the UK’s bars, pubs and restaurants could be forced to close due to soaring energy prices and huge cost price increases and unfortunately, we are not exempt from these headwinds. Last night we confirmed we were to close six bars around the UK and it is heart-breaking to lose these locations. I warned a few weeks ago, costs are rising to such a degree, with no prospect of any help from a clueless government, that these very difficult decisions have to be made. It was going to be simply impossible to get these bars even close to financial viability in the foreseeable future. We had no choice but to close them. I am so, so happy that due to the strength in other parts of our bar estate, every single person has been offered a role in a separate bar nearby, so there will be no job losses. But I pray this is not a sign of things to come. Reality in the hospitality space is starting to bite and bite hard. And the government needs to get a grip, now. If nothing happens the UK looks set to lose half of its pubs and bars and all the millions of jobs these locations provide, as well as the vital role they play in local communities.”