A major pub chain in the UK is closing all of its bars today
A major UK pub chain with locations throughout the country is shutting its doors today as it works to complete the sale of the business. BrewDog, the Scottish craft beer brand and pub operator, has approximately 60 sites scattered across the UK.
Nevertheless, all will stay closed today (Monday, March 2), as the firm has consistently failed to turn a profit in recent years. BrewDog is holding a company-wide call today, it has informed employees, to enable them to hear directly from senior management.
The pub chain was placed on the market last month. A fortnight ago, bosses confirmed that consultants AlixPartners had been appointed to help attempt to rescue the business.
This follows BrewDog shutting down several of its bars in the UK, including sites such as Camden in London, Brighton, Aberdeen and Leeds. The brand was established in 2007 by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie and expanded remarkably over the past two decades, but encountered financial difficulties in more recent years. Currently, BrewDog has 59 operational sites listed on its website, reports the Express.
Chief executive James Taylor told staff in an internal email: “We appreciate this is an unsettling time for everyone, and we want to ensure that all colleagues have the opportunity to hear directly from us about what happens next. We will therefore be holding a series of company-wide All Hands calls tomorrow (Monday) for all employees across the whole business. These will be scheduled tomorrow.
“To enable everyone to attend, and to comply with licensing issues arising from an anticipated change of ownership, we have taken the decision that none of our bars will open tomorrow (Monday). All sites will remain closed for the day. We have also cancelled food and beer deliveries, as well as customer bookings, for that day.”
The BrewDog pubs that are closed today are:
- Aberdeen Castlegate
- Aberdeen Kennels
- Aberdeen Union Square
- Basingstoke
- Belfast Grand Central
- Bath
- Birmingham
- Bournemouth
- Bristol Baldwin Street
- Bristol Harbourside
- Cambridge
- Camden Road Arms
- Canary Wharf, London
- Cardiff
- Carlisle
- Chancery Lane, London
- Cheltenham
- Clerkenwell
- Doghouse Edinburgh Bar
- Doghouse Edinburgh Hotel
- Doghouse Manchester Bar
- Doghopuse Manchester Hotel
- Dogtap Ellon
- Duke of Hammersmith, London
- Ealing
- Edinburgh Airport
- Edinburgh Cowgate
- Edinburgh Lothian Road
- Edinburgh Waverley
- Exeter
- Gatwick Airport
- Glasgow Kelvingrove
- Glasgow Merchant City
- Hull
- Inverurie
- Liverpool
- Manchester Outpost
- Manchester Peter Street
- Milton Keynes
- Newcastle
- Norwich
- Nottingham
- Paddington, London
- Perth
- Plymouth
- Reading
- Seething Lane Tap, London
- Seven Dials, London
- Soho, London
- Southampton
- St Andrew’s
- Stirling
- Tower Bridge Arms, London
- Tower Hill Outpost, London
- Upminster
- Wandsworth
- Waterloo
- Waterloo – Grind Coffee
- Waterloo Arms
Last October, BrewDog posted a £37m loss. It has around 1,400 employees in the UK. It also expanded internationally, opening venues in the Republic of Ireland, the US and Australia.