Brewdog profits go flat after brewery opening

PROFITS at craft beer firm Brewdog plunged to less than £1m last year as it splashed out on opening a brewery in America and a vodka and gin distillery.

The Scottish brewer reported a 73pc drop in profits to £870,000 in the year to December 31, despite sales soaring from £71.9m to £111.5m.

It came as the firm opened its first American brewery in Ohio, as well as its Lone Wolf distillery in the UK.

It is also looking at opening breweries in Asia, with China already one of its biggest export markets.

Brewdog was founded in 2007 and has grown to become one of the most popular craft beers sold in UK supermarkets. It has 46 bars around the world and shipped 344,387 hectolitres of beer last year – equivalent to 1.4m bottles.

Its most popular beer, Punk IPA, raked in £35.4m worth of sales for the business in 2017.

Almost a quarter of the business is now owned by private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners.