Brewdog bags Leighton

CRAFT beer giant Brewdog has appointed

former Asda boss Allan Leighton as chairman in a bid to move past previous criticism of its work culture by employees ahead of a planned stock market listing.

Leighton, a City grandee who serves as chairman of the Co-Op and Pizza Express, will take up the position immediately. His appointment follows a letter from former Brewdog staff in June that accused the company of creating a ‘culture of fear’.

The accusations dented investor enthusiasm. However, the group will be hoping a series of apologies and reforms, as well as Leighton’s reputation, will help it maintain favour ahead of its IPO, which has been pushed back by the coronavirus pandemic. Aside from his stint at Asda, the CoOp and Pizza Express, Leighton’s CV also includes serving as chairman of Royal Mail and as chief executive of jewellery group Pandora. Leighton (pictured) said Brewdog was ‘a good business that can become a great business’, and that it was simply experiencing ‘growing pains’. The 68-year-old will take over from Blythe Jack, a managing director of private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners, which bought a stake four years ago.