BREWDOG has raised £5 million in 20 days as the Scottish craft brewer's latest crowdfunding campaign got off to a flying start.
The company is looking to raise £25m in its fourth Equity for Punks share issue, which if successful would give the brewer and bar operator an implied market value of £300m.
And it declared the response to its latest fundraiser showed there is a "thirst for alternative finance" among investors, with the sum raised in its first three weeks smashing the record it previously set when it brought in £4.45m over six months in 2013.
BrewDog plans to use the latest tranche of investment to expand its brewery, build a distillation plant, and add a custom sour beer facility to its base in Ellon, Aberdeenshire.
There are also plans to open a craft beer hotel in the area, already dubbed The Kennel, a brewery in the US, most likely in Ohio, and further outlets in its 27-strong chain of bars at home and abroad.
Mr Watt, who founded the business with Martin Dickie in 2007, said: "Many questioned our target of raising £25m, but we've passed the record we set in 2013 in a fraction of the time.
"It's proof that there is a thirst for alternative finance out there, and that people are sick and tired of the fat cats controlling everyone's money."
BrewDog, which has raised £7m in its three previous crowdfunding drives, made 526,316 shares available in its latest round, with the offer priced at a minimum £95 for two shares.
If fully subscribed, the company's estimated 15,000 "punk" investors would hold 23 per cent of the equity.
Mr Watt is on record as saying Equity for Punks has shown there is another way for small firms to raise finance other than traditional lenders such as banks, private equity and venture capitalists. And to illustrate the point BrewDog's latest guerrilla marketing stunt saw Mr Watt and Mr Dickie drop a series of taxidermy "fat cats" from a helicopter gently on to the City of London.
The cats carried a copy of the latest Equity for Punks prospectus, approved by the Financial Conduct Authority, and mocked the caricature of the fat cat banker by being clad in waistcoats, monocles, and handmade velvet top hats.
Mr Watt added: "This round of Equity for Punks has got off to a great start so we went behind enemy lines to conduct a symbolic gesture that heralds the extinction of the City fat cat.
"This is our way of showcasing the viability of alternative forms of finance, it is our own anti-propaganda propaganda.
"Crowdfunding should no longer be seen as a niche alternative, but a proven, workable option for those libertines and change-makers who want to shake up the status quo."
However not everyone is convinced Equity for Punks will deliver a return for investors.
Crowdfunding analyst All Street said "it is difficult to see how investors will make a financial return on this deal given the high valuation of £305m."
Chief executive Emanuela Vartolomei said: "No financial forecast has been disclosed so there is very little clarity as to how the company will hit the revenue targets required to generate a risk adjusted return for investors.
"That said, many participants in crowdfunding deals invest small amounts of money just to be part of the user journey of a new cutting edge brand."
Mr Watt responded by stating that "opinions are partial and do not give justice to the whole story".
He urged potential investors to make up their mind by reading the BrewDog prospectus, rather than relying on comments from All Street or other analysts.
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