The boss of BrewDog has said the craft brewer will shut six of its pubs after being hammered by soaring energy costs “with no prospect of any help from a clueless government”. James Watt, founder and chief executive of the company, said it took the decision as it believed it would “be simply impossible to get these bars even close to financial viability” in the foreseeable future.
BrewDog will shut the Hop and Anchor in Aberdeen, Smithfield Market Arms in London, Hop Hub in Motherwell and its BrewDog bars in Dalston, east London; Old Street, east London; and Peterhead. In a LinkedIn post, the boss said the closures come as the hospitality sector faces “sheer ‘rabbit in the headlights’ paralysis of this zombie government” as rocketing costs threaten the future of many pubs, restaurants and bars.
Mr Watt said: “Last night we confirmed we were to close six bars around the UK and it is heart-breaking to lose these locations. Reality in the hospitality space is starting to bite and bite hard. And the Government needs to get a grip, now.
