Former BrewDog employees have lost out on nearly £500,000 in unpaid wages and holiday pay after the company's collapse left insufficient funds to settle their arrears. Six months into the winding-up process, administrators AlixPartners have confirmed they cannot pay the £489,000 owed to ex-staff who lost their jobs in March during a controversial 15-minute online call. The brewery was acquired by American firm Tilray for £33 million after going into administration with debts exceeding £500 million, resulting in 38 pub closures and 484 redundancies.

The administrators blame their inability to cover staff payments on poor returns from selling the shuttered bars and unexpected costs incurred from property management and evicting squatters, with legal expenses mounting when several pub sales fell through at the last minute. The financial collapse has devastated multiple stakeholders: 200,000 crowdfunding "Equity Punk" investors see their holdings become worthless, HSBC loses £16.8 million, the taxman cannot recoup £2.4 million in unpaid VAT and National Insurance, and unsecured creditors owed £207.6 million will receive nothing. Private equity firm TSG, which invested over £160 million in the company in 2017, will recover none of the £27 million it is owed, whilst creditors of the parent company will recover less than 1p per pound owed.