Aberdeenshire-based BrewDog has announced its sixth consecutive year of record growth, with profits of £4.9million in 2014.
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This is an increase of 69% on its annual profit of £2.9million the previous year.
The food and drinks brand also increased turnover from £18million in 2013 to £29.6million.
Over the year, BrewDog took its global bar count to 26 after opening a further 12 bars. This included six in the UK – in Liverpool, Cardiff, Dundee, Sheffield, Clapham Junction and Ellon. It also launched six international bars in Tokyo, São Paulo, Gothenburg, Florence, Bologna and Helsinki.
It now exports to 55 countries across the world and employs 360 people.
Last year BrewDog also expanded its brewery in Ellon, adding new fermentation capacity, constructing new office buildings and adding an on-site bar.
Additionally, 2014 saw the opening of the company’s first craft beer bottle shop, BottleDog, in London’s Kings Cross. It houses over 250 craft beers and a range of homebrewing equipment and ingredients. The company has plans to launch a series of these shops across the country in 2015.
Plans are also underway for a number of new bar launches throughout the year. This year the brewery has opened its first bar in Spain, and is aiming for new bars in Brighton, Norwich, Leicester, Berlin and Rome to join it. It also launched a new import and distribution arm in January, following an exclusive deal with Stone Brewing Co.
James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog said: “2014 was an epic year for BrewDog and the craft beer industry as a whole. Not only did we continue to grow at breakneck speed and secure more footholds of craft beer awesomeness all around the world, but we were able to improve processes and efficiencies to ensure we deliver the optimum flavour experience every time.
“Our growth has shown that with a healthy disregard for the impossible you can achieve anything. When we launched in 2007, we never expected to be where we are today, but our success continues to prove that there is an insatiable thirst for great craft beer, and a huge opportunity for businesses doing things differently to thrive in challenging economic times.
“We have done well so far, but we are just getting warmed up. For 2015 we have mammoth plans that will really set the world alight. You ain’t seen nothing yet.”
