BrewDog chief executive and co-founder James Watt has confirmed plans for a stock market listing.
Rumoured to potentially be worth around £2bn for the Ellon-based brewer, it has appointed law firm Freshfields to help prepare.
A reshaped top team also now includes chief financial officer Niall McCallum and former Asda boss Allan Leighton, who joined as its chairman and Watt's mentor four months ago.
Watt told the Mail on Sunday that an Initial Public Offering (IPO) should give "longer term liquidity" to its existing individual investors - or 'equity punks' - who currently have one day in March to trade shares.
"We're pretty much working towards IPO for them as much as anyone else," he stated. "They are the heart and soul of the business."
Annual sales growth has averaged 57% over the past decade and the company is on course to sell around 400 million cans this year.
However, the pandemic has caused BrewDog's many bars to be closed for long periods, while the business has been rocked by accusations from former and current staff of a "toxic" work culture.
Watt is, therefore, coy on the timing of any IPO.
"The key thing is getting that certainty and stability back," he commented, cautioning that the trigger point "could be this year or some point in the future - we're working towards it".
A float has also long been promised for the 200,000 or so individual shareholders brought on board through crowdfunding rounds since launch in 2007.
Since then, other craft brewers - including Meantime and Camden Town Brewery - have been sold to brewing giants.
But Watt, who counts a US private equity firm as a minority investor, dismissed suggestions that the company could be snapped up.
"We've had loads and loads of inbound [takeover interest]", including two approaches last year, he said, adding: "We're very passionate about our independence."
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