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BrewDog: yet another hip company using 'rebel' language to sell its stuff

nastyned said:
News on the venture capitalists that own nearly a quarter of the company: Revealed: Nearly a quarter of BrewDog's shares held by tax haven firms, with former Vote Leave director among investors
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They really are despicable frauds.

It has enjoyed a meteoric rise thanks in large part to its self-proclaimed punk ethos, positioning itself as a brash upstart with a disregard for convention.

But The Scotsman can reveal that nearly a quarter of BrewDog’s shares are owned by obscure partnerships based in one of the world’s most notorious tax havens, with a pro-Brexit Conservative donor who served as the chair of Vote Leave’s finance committee among its most prominent investors.


The company’s rapid ascent has been built in large part on its so-called ‘equity for punks’ crowdfunding initiatives, which have marshalled an army of more than 145,000 small shareholders while building its profile.
Its most recent prospectus quotes from the famous Apple commercial narrated by Steve Jobs to pay tribute to “the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers”, and those who would be classed as “round pegs in square holes”.
However, a sizeable chunk of the firm is owned by parties which could not be further removed from its punk image.

Some 23.25 per cent of the company’s total issued share capital is held by two exempted limited partnerships based in the Cayman Islands.


The entities, TSG7 A AIV II (Cayman) LP, and TSG7 A Lassies and Laddies (Cayman) LP, hold a total of 891,383 ordinary A shares in Brewdog PLC.
Between then, they also hold a further 16,160,949 preferred C shares in the company, confirmation statements filed with Companies House show.

Unlike the other holdings in the company, the shares held by the Cayman entities have what is known as a ‘liquidation preference’, meaning that in the event of the firm’s liquidation, they will get their money back first.

The partnerships are controlled by TSG Consumer Partners, a US private equity firm with more than £6.4 billion in assets.

Alex Cobham, chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, the advocacy group that campaigns for a fairer tax system, said: “This is a disappointing, but sadly common story – companies whose approach to tax havens is entirely at odds with their projected image.

“Cayman ranks worst in the world in our Financial Secrecy Index, and second worst on the Corporate Tax Haven Index. It is a jurisdiction overwhelmingly dedicated to facilitating anonymous ownership, profit shifting and the avoidance of tax on capital gains that would otherwise arise in the places where the real business happens.


“Cayman’s success rests on the continuing political support of the UK Government, which refuses to require improvements despite having the power to impose these, nor to support the island’s authorities in developing a less pernicious business model.”
He added: “Having major investors using Cayman as a conduit is certainly anti-social, but it’s about as punk as croquet.”
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Winner of BrewDog’s ‘solid gold’ beer can finds prize is made largely of brass

"A man who won a “solid gold” can of BrewDog beer has been left disappointed after the prize, which the Scottish brewery claims is worth £15,000, turned out to be largely made of brass."

"Craig, who said he had hoped to fund his wedding by selling the gold, discovered the can was only plated with the precious metal after asking for a certificate from BrewDog.
“Sales of Punk presumably went through the roof,” said Craig.
“You saw people claiming that that they’d ordered 20 cases to stock up, all on the basis of it being a ‘solid gold’ can.
“I can’t imagine a similar frenzy for a novelty can, which is what it ended up being.”"
 
BillRiver said:
Winner of BrewDog’s ‘solid gold’ beer can finds prize is made largely of brass

"A man who won a “solid gold” can of BrewDog beer has been left disappointed after the prize, which the Scottish brewery claims is worth £15,000, turned out to be largely made of brass."

"Craig, who said he had hoped to fund his wedding by selling the gold, discovered the can was only plated with the precious metal after asking for a certificate from BrewDog.
“Sales of Punk presumably went through the roof,” said Craig.
“You saw people claiming that that they’d ordered 20 cases to stock up, all on the basis of it being a ‘solid gold’ can.
“I can’t imagine a similar frenzy for a novelty can, which is what it ended up being.”"
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What a scummy company.

Emails shared with the Guardian by Craig show that he initially struggled to strike up communication about the issue. He contacted customer services to ask about the discrepancy, only to have his email account blocked.

Craig said he felt particularly let down because he was an early investor in BrewDog who had often defended the company and had been sceptical of criticism it received from a group of ex-employees who spoke of a “culture of fear” at the brewery earlier this month.

“This piece of the puzzle fits in and makes me change my mind,” he said.
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And listen to this 'typo' bullshit:

The certificate they sent said it was gold-plated but they promoted it as solid gold. When I contacted them they told me the ‘solid gold’ claim was an error.”

Tweets posted by BrewDog when the draw launched in November told entrants they could be one of ten customers to win a ‘solid gold’ can if they bought cases of Punk IPA.

Bosses told Mark the claim was a typo but insisted the value was due to its rarity, with only 50 produced, and the cost and quality of the cans.
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https:// www. thescottishsun.co.uk/news/7318747/brewdog-competition-winner-gold-can/
 
baldrick said:
That's fraudulent, surely? I know they are now claiming 'solid gold' was never referenced in the t's and c's but it was all over the marketing and social media. I wonder what advertising standards would have to say about it?
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The tweet says the can is worth £15k, so even if it's not solid gold, the winner should be getting £15k. Although I expect Brewdog will win in any court case.
 
Storm Fox said:
The tweet says the can is worth £15k, so even if it's not solid gold, the winner should be getting £15k. Although I expect Brewdog will win in any court case.
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Without knowing all the details, I don't think they would. I think courts would generally say that if you offer a prize, the prize needs to be what you say it will be. A typo excuse is not going to work. They'll probably just pay him the 15k following the first solicitor's letter.
 
Raheem said:
Without knowing all the details, I don't think they would. I think courts would generally say that if you offer a prize, the prize needs to be what you say it will be. A typo excuse is not going to work. They'll probably just pay him the 15k following the first solicitor's letter.
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This...
"We made a typo but because we're really nice here's 15k"
You couldn't buy any sort of publicity for that tiny amount of money.
 
Just when you think they can't get any more scummy, they do something like that. A typo my arse - a typo would be a wrong letter or spelling mistake, no way would it be a phrase repeated all over social media time and time again. Are they claiming there was no proofreading, no checking, no approval of copy?

I smell shite.
 
BillRiver said:
Winner of BrewDog’s ‘solid gold’ beer can finds prize is made largely of brass

"A man who won a “solid gold” can of BrewDog beer has been left disappointed after the prize, which the Scottish brewery claims is worth £15,000, turned out to be largely made of brass."

"Craig, who said he had hoped to fund his wedding by selling the gold, discovered the can was only plated with the precious metal after asking for a certificate from BrewDog.
“Sales of Punk presumably went through the roof,” said Craig.
“You saw people claiming that that they’d ordered 20 cases to stock up, all on the basis of it being a ‘solid gold’ can.
“I can’t imagine a similar frenzy for a novelty can, which is what it ended up being.”"
Click to expand...
If I read or watched a work of fiction about a company who sell themselves on their shiny attractive appearance, concealing a less attractive reality, who marketed a gold/brass can like that, I'd think "fuck me, that's a bit of a heavy-handed metaphor".
 
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