FDBusiness.com

BrewDog, Scotland’s largest independent brewery, has unveiled plans to build the world’s first fan-funded brewery next year, as well as opening five new craft beer bars across the UK. Planning permission for a new £7 million low carbon brewing facility inAberdeenshire, Scotlandhas already been submitted, following investment of almost £2 million from beer drinkers across the world through the company’s ground-breaking ‘Equity for Punks’ online share offer.

Launched in July, Equity for Punks gives beer drinkers the opportunity to buy equity in the fast-growing BrewDog business for as little as £95. In its first month, Equity for Punks raised just over £1 million from ‘fanvestors’.

The new BrewDog brewery will house state-of-the-art craft brewing equipment and will create 25 new jobs immediately.

The new BrewDog brewery will house state-of-the-art craft brewing equipment and will create 25 new jobs immediately, rising to 75 in the next five years. The site for the new brewery will be at Balmacassie, just outside Aberdeen.

“The new facility will give us ten times the brewing capacity, allowing us to meet demand that is growing all the time. In addition to this, we have plans in place to open at least five new craft beer bars over the next 12 months,” says James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog. “We have also bought the land adjacent to the site of the new brewery, which will allow for further expansion in the future – all made possible by Equity for Punks. It’s an entirely new business model, but we are proving that by turning to your customers, rather than the banks or financial markets, that the future is bright.”

He adds: “We are still receiving investment from craft beer drinkers as far afield as New Zealand and South East Asia, as well as all over the UK, so there will be more than 8,000 people behind our expansion in 2012 – all of whom will literally get richer with every beer they drink. We think that’s pretty cool.”