King's College London

A King’s Business School expert says Brewdog’s ultimate collapse in March 2026 highlights deeper weaknesses in the UK’s startup economy.

Dr Robyn Klingler-Vidra, author of Startup Capitalism, said the case reflects not just risks for individual investors, but a wider structural issue around how companies scale and exit.

Speaking on the Office Hours podcast, she explained how more than 75,000 small investors were left exposed after backing the company through its “Equity for Punks” scheme.

“The equity crowdfunding is ordinary shares, common stock. It means you have less say over the direction of the business. By contrast, institutional investors typically receive preferred shares with greater protections and influence. It gives them the ability to veto or block small exits. It gives a voice and the ability to shape the growth trajectory of the company they are investing in.”

Dr Klingler-Vidra described BrewDog as “a really striking case” of how startup investments can unfold.

“Going from a valuation in excess of a billion pounds to an ultimate exit where equity investors see nothing back is an extreme example and a cautionary tale. For individual investors, the key lesson is clear. If you are involved in equity crowdfunding, be aware that it can also go to zero.”

While BrewDog is an individual case, Klingler-Vidra argues it reflects a broader challenge in the UK and Europe.

“We don’t have a scale-up problem. We have an exit problem. The London Stock Exchange is not a viable exit destination for companies that want to produce the greatest possible return.”

She added that global pressures, from geopolitical instability to trade tensions, have made successful exits harder to achieve.

Rather than focusing only on funding, Dr Klingler-Vidra said policymakers should look at how other countries structure their innovation systems.

“There’s so much in the essential elements of an ecosystem already in the UK. Amazing talent, capital and abilities around particular industries and technologies.”

Her research highlights how countries such as Japan and South Korea take a different approach, using startups to strengthen existing industries rather than disrupt them.

“The model is fundamentally different… it’s about injecting innovative DNA into large firms.”

In South Korea, this approach is tied to national industrial strategy. The country’s dominance in shipbuilding shows how targeted capability can translate into global influence.

Hyundai Heavy Industries alone produces far more high-tech ships than the entire US shipbuilding sector, illustrating how governments can back specific industries at scale. She pointed to South Korea’s “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” programme as an example of how countries align industrial strength with national strategy — an approach the UK could learn from.

“This kind of focus allows countries to dominate strategically important sectors. There’s a strong case for the UK to cultivate what I’ve called a sort of niche superpower, especially in sectors such as Quantum Computing and AI”

Listen to the full episode, What the BrewDog collapse reveals about who really wins in startup investing, wherever you get your podcasts.