Red Squirrel launches crowdfund drive

English craft brewery Red Squirrel has launched a £500,000 crowdfunding drive to help expand the business.

The group consists of the Hertfordshire brewery and its own chain of craft beer shops (Photo: Red Squirrel)

The money will be used to help with the opening of another seven craft beer shops in London and the southeast over the next three years, adding to its four current premises.

At the same time, Red Squirrel also plans to triple the output of its range of craft beers, which includes American Pale Ale, Milk Stout and Black Lager.

In the first five days of its Crowdcube pitch going live, £160,000 had already been poured into the Hertfordshire-based company, which was set-up in 2010.

Building on the two new shop openings in 2015, the company projects a growth revenue of 90% and a total sales of £2 million in the year to June 2016, with further growth to take the company to £4.6 million by June 2018.

Shareholder opportunities range from £10 to £50,000, with investors gaining access to differing benefits depending on levels of investment, including regular samples of new beers, discounts online, AGM invitations and parties.

Full voting rights and A Shares will be granted to those that invest over £15,000.

Greg Blesson, managing director, said: “Since our launch five years ago, our squirrel family has worked to the simple ambition of creating brilliant brews for discerning drinkers – we never dreamed that we would have gathered as many fans and awards as we have.

“This dedication, passion and pure love for our brand has resulted such demand that we have decided to take the next exciting expansion and investment step with Crowdcube.

“This enables us to bring the great taste of Red Squirrel to the nation and beyond. It’s what our supporters want, and we can’t wait to offer it.”