BrewDog co-founder and chief executive James Watt is donating a 5% stake in the business - worth £100m at its most recent fundraising valuation - to 750 salaried crew members.
Based on the most recent fundraising valuation of £1.8bn, the award will be worth around £30,000 a year over four years to each employee, when the scheme begins in June.
The share award could be worth even more if ambitious new growth targets are met - set as the Scottish brewer reaches its 15th anniversary.
BrewDog’s salaried crew members and Equity Punk shareholders will soon own 25% of shares - the biggest stake in the business - between them.
Watt's total shareholding will reduce from 24.2% to 19.2%, transferring 3,727,201 shares to an Employee Benefit Trust that will distribute 1.25% of the company evenly among all 750 salaried crew members every year for the next four years in the form of share options, or conditional cash entitlements based on the value of the shares.
The giveaway of over 3.7 million shares is set out in the Blueprint, a new plan which also includes further investment in its Ellon headquarters, people and culture initiatives, a continued focus on sustainability, broadening into spirits, as well as further international expansion.
BrewDog has also pledged to change how its bars operate, with half of profits being shared with staff.
For each bar 30% of profits will be shared directly with the crew members who work there and 20% with the crew members who work in the bar’s area cluster, to ensure a more equitable split of profits - recognising that some bars may be more profitable than others.
The profit share will be paid out twice a year. Based on 2021 numbers, this will result in an additional circa £3,000 to £5,000 to all crew members’ salaries - with variables, including hours worked.
Watt commented: “These radical new initiatives are about ensuring we win together and fully recognise the hard work that our fantastic team puts into our business.
“The road ahead is going to be exciting, but it won’t be easy.
“The share giveaway and profit share scheme will ensure that we are all in this together as we look to write the next chapter in the BrewDog story.”
BrewDog chairman Allan Leighton said: “These are the perfect initiatives to mark the next stage in the evolution of the business and take our people with us on that journey.
“This is a company that has shown over 15 years of revolutionising the brewing industry that it is ready to do things differently and I am very proud to chair it.”
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