BrewDog reveals firm is £11.5m short of April funding target

Brewer and bar operator BrewDog has revealed it is still £11.5m short of reaching a £25m fundraising target set for April.

The Aberdeenshire-based firm said on its website it had raised a record £13.5m so far in the fourth round of its "Equity for Punks" crowdfunding scheme.

The round, which was launched in April last year, is due to close on 20 April.

The brewer wants to invest cash raised from the scheme to expand its business.

Plans include expanding its brewery in Ellon and opening new bars. It already operates 30 bars in the UK, as well as about a dozen abroad.

BrewDog said that more than 20,300 people had invested in Equity for Punks IV to date, with an average investment of £525.55.

Shares cost £47.50 each, with a minimum investment of two shares.

The total so far includes more than £2.4m which was raised late last year from a four-year mini-bond launched through the Crowdcube platform. It offered investors a fixed 6.5% annual rate of return on a £500 investment.

BrewDog shareholders are entitled to discounts in its bars and online shop.

BrewDog's prospectus for its latest Equity for Punks round outlines how it plans to spend funds raised

The company was founded nine years ago in Fraserburgh by James Watt and Martin Dickie and employs hundreds of people in Ellon.

Its first three crowdfunding rounds raised more than £7m from customers and beer enthusiasts.

Crowdfunding involves companies raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the internet.