BrewDog bars see revenue up 31% in 2021
The group, which has just published its annual report and accounts, achieved total revenue of £286m in 2021 (+21%), up from £238m in 2020 and £215m in 2019.
Adjusted EBITDA stood at £14.2m, compared to £7.9m in 2020, with the group reporting an operating loss of £5.5m for 2021, down from £6.8m in 2020
The group ended the year with a £10.6m loss, compared to £12.6m loss in 2020.
Commenting on LinkedIn, co-founder and CEO James Watt said that considering how difficult last year with regards Covid restrictions closing its bars for several months, it finished up the year with sales growth of more than 20% - a 'phenomenal result'.
Highlighting some of the developments he is most proud of from last year, Watt cited the 839 new hires it made across the business, the £9m it invested in people-focused areas of the business and the £13m it invested in opening new bars and hotels in four different markets – with 30 new venues due to open this year.
“BrewDog is a place where people want to come to work,” he said. “And we’ve been overwhelmed with the number of applicants more recently after we announced our Blueprint as we look to further build out the team and resource our new bars, in particular our London Waterloo, our Atlanta and our Vegas sites, which all look set to be truly incredible.”
“We’ve started 2022 well. Our bars are delivering record sales so far this year, and though like all our peers we are facing rising costs, we are well placed to weather this challenge in particular as our new anaerobic digester plant in Ellon comes on stream and we become fully self-sufficient in our gas requirements by using our waste to generate green gas to power our brewery,” Watt added.
“Above all, I’m very confident in the future thanks to our Blueprint. From the 50% profit share for our bar workers, to the £100m in shares to our employees, all of our Crew have a stake in BrewDog’s success.
“The first 15 years of BrewDog have been incredible and I can’t tell you how excited I am about the next 15 years.”
Chairman Allan Leighton addressed the work BrewDog has been carrying out since concerns were raised about employee relations in an open letter by former colleagues in June last year.
“We have taken and continue to take many actions to be the best employer we can be, to ensure our people and their welfare are central to everything we do,” he said.
The independent review it carried out showed that the business had already moved a long way in terms of how it looked after its people, with a much stronger and more supportive culture. But it also highlighted areas for improvement, such as development and training pathways.
“BrewDog has delivered significant growth over the years and continues to develop ambitious plans to continue that growth on a global basis,” Leighton added.
“The work we have undertaken and will continue to undertake to develop our people will ensure we have significant potential to fulfil those aspirations.”
