Tilray Bets £50m on a BrewDog Turnaround

Tilray is pouring more than £50m into BrewDog and asking drinkers to give the scandal-hit brewer "a second chance".

The US cannabis and drinks company took control of BrewDog in March this year, paying £33m for a business that had collapsed into administration. The sale followed five years of losses and a string of controversies over the treatment of workers under founder James Watt.

Tilray says the new money will fund improvements across three fronts: the beer itself, BrewDog's pub estate, and working conditions for staff.

The investment marks an aggressive bet on a brand whose value has collapsed. BrewDog was once Britain's most valuable craft brewer, but years of financial losses and reputational damage took their toll before administrators stepped in.

Watt, who built the company from a Scottish startup into a global beer and hospitality business, left behind a culture that drew repeated criticism. Allegations about the treatment of employees under his leadership became a defining feature of the company's decline.

Tilray's £33m purchase price in March reflected that damage. The acquisition handed the US firm BrewDog's breweries, its pub network and an internationally recognised brand at a fraction of its former worth.

Now the new owner is putting capital behind a recovery. The £50m-plus commitment covers upgrades to beer quality, investment in the pub estate and a push to reset relations with the workforce — the same areas where BrewDog's troubles were most visible.

The appeal to consumers is explicit: come back and try the beer again. That is a tall order for a brand that alienated chunks of its customer base, but Tilray appears to be wagering that distribution muscle and fresh capital can restore BrewDog's commercial standing.

The turnaround also carries employment weight. BrewDog's collapse into administration put jobs at risk, and the scale of Tilray's investment suggests the US owner intends to operate the business rather than strip it.

For Tilray, the deal extends a drinks portfolio that the company has assembled alongside its core cannabis operations. Craft beer brands across Europe and North America have become distressed assets in recent years, and Tilray has bought into that weakness before.

The £50m pledge sets a measurable test for the revival: better beer, better pubs, better conditions. Whether drinkers answer the call for a second chance will determine if Tilray's bet pays off.