BrewDog co-founder James Watt is facing complaints to the UK’s data watchdog after reportedly contacting former shareholders as part of his efforts to regain control of the craft brewer.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has confirmed it is "assessing" information following these complaints.
This scrutiny emerges just months after the Scottish craft beer firm was acquired by US drinks company Tilray in a £33 million rescue deal earlier this year.
That administration process saw BrewDog shut 36 bars, affecting almost 500 workers, and rendered the shares of around 200,000 crowdfunding investors worthless.
Despite the recent takeover, Mr Watt launched a fresh bid on Wednesday to buy back the company he co-founded. His reported contact with former shareholders is now under review by the ICO.
He tabled an offer to buy BrewDog through his new beer firm, Second Best, claiming that 43,000 so-called equity punk investors have joined forces for the bid.
On Friday, The Guardian revealed that a number of shareholders contacted by Mr Watt said they did not understand how he had their contact details, raising concerns about a potential breach of the general data protection regulation (GDPR).
The data privacy rules are overseen by the ICO, which is now responding to the potential issue.
An ICO spokeswoman said: “We are aware of an incident involving BrewDog and we are assessing the information provided.”
Mr Watt has been contacted for comment.
Mr Watt co-founded craft beer giant BrewDog in Aberdeenshire in 2007 with the brand growing rapidly afterwards.
He stepped down as chief executive in 2024 to become its “captain and co-founder”.
Earlier this week, bosses at Tilray stressed that the brand is not for sale and plan to reject takeover efforts from Mr Watt.
A spokesman for Tilray also said: “Tilray Brands did not acquire Equity for Punk shareholder data as part of its acquisition of the BrewDog brand and assets; that records system remains under the control of BrewDog plc (in administration).
“Tilray acquired only a customer CRM database comprising individuals who explicitly opted in to BrewDog communications.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Tilray Brands (trading as BrewDog) and its current management team have no involvement in, affiliation with, or responsibility for James Watt’s business activities, including Second Best.
“Tilray Brands did not authorise, facilitate, or participate in the communications reportedly sent to former Equity for Punks investors and did not authorise the use of any acquired data for such purposes.
“We take data privacy with the utmost seriousness and can categorically confirm that no data held by Tilray Brands has been shared with external entities or former directors.”
