BrewDog's collapse into administration has resulted in administrators confirming that creditors owed approximately £190m will not be paid back in full, citing insufficient funds to cover unpaid wages, taxes and overdue bills. This outcome affects a wide range of stakeholders including government bodies, hundreds of British businesses, 200,000 small crowdfunding investors (known as "equity punks"), and employees, making this a significant financial failure in the UK drinks industry. The company was partially rescued by US firm Tilray in March, which acquired its brand, intellectual property and key assets for £33m, but this deal excluded most of the bar chain, resulting in 38 closures and 440 redundancies.

Administrators at AlixPartners cite high administration costs, including removal of unauthorised occupiers from shuttered bars, and poor asset recovery as reasons for the shortfall. Notable creditors facing losses include the UK government, which will not be fully repaid, HMRC (owed £2.4m in unpaid taxes), and major British institutions such as Lord's Cricket Ground and West Ham United FC, which will receive less than a penny in the pound as unsecured creditors. Private equity investor TSG, which invested £213m for a 22% stake in 2017, has had its investment wiped out along with £28m in debts, whilst HSBC will recover only about £42m of £61m owed. Staff wages of £489,000 have been covered through the government's redundancy payment scheme.