The vast majority of BrewDog UK plc B shares are stored online at Computershare Investor Centre.
They are NOT held for you by BrewDog.
ANYTHING YOU SEE ON BREWDOG’S OWN SITE ABOUT YOUR SHARES IS NOT REAL, AND JUST FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT PERK RESPONSIBILITIES!
To be in control your shareholding you need access to your online account at ComputerShare.
If you bought shares from BrewDog in any Share Issue, your shares will have been allocated to you at ComputerShare.
You should have received emails and a letter by post informing you of this.
Unfortunately, many investors failed to understand the importance of them, and have never registered their ownership with ComputerShare.
IF THIS IS YOU – DO IT NOW!
To register your shares at ComputerShare you will need your Shareholder Reference Number (SRN – looks like C0123456789) which can be found in your BrewDog Account at www.brewdog.com, and the post code you used when you purchased the shares.
Click here to go to ComputerShare
If you are having trouble you either need to contact ComputerShare directly, or email equitypunks@brewdog.com for assistance.
I can no more help you to access your account at ComputerShare, than I could if you were locked out of your bank account, so please don’t ask me!
Only a very small number of investors will have their shares with a different custodian, and I cannot advise about those 😉
BrewDog have also recently stated that they can only keep track of shares held at ComputerShare, and no other custodian, so if you wish to use your share perks like discounts, Birthday Beers, AGM invite etc. then you will need to keep your shares with ComputerShare.
If you hold shares elsewhere, you may be incurring fees just for them to be held (which is not the case at ComputerShare), and you will most likely have to pay fees to get them transferred.
If you buy shares from us we will put them into an account at ComputerShare.
Either into an existing one (if you given us the details correctly), or into a new one if you are a new investor, or have given us incorrect details.
Once they are allocated at ComputerShare, they will send you a letter by post (not an email) and this will inform you about the allocation, and, if you are a new investor, it will tell you how to register your shareholding.
Even more stuff about ComputerShare:
If you buy equity directly from BrewDog, they later allocate your actual shares at Computershare. You should receive an email from BrewDog and a letter by post from ComputerShare telling you about this.
If you believe you weren’t sent either of these communications, you are probably wrong.
Baring the odd glitch, (and sadly there were been more than usual in the latest share issue) everyone will have had them.
But maybe the email went to spam, or you didn’t read it properly.
The letters from Computershare are unread by most people, who either don’t understand their significance, or think it is junk mail. I never used to read mine!
So, if you want control of your shareholding, so that you can add to it, sell it, leave it to someone in your will, or take advantage of an exit option like a Stock Market listing, you need to access your shares at Computershare.
This is what we were told in those emails and letters we didn’t read properly 😉
You may think I’m being a little harsh.
But I’m just telling you like it is.
I know, because I found out the hard way.
I was one of those people who didn’t read them either, and it took me several months to get control of my shareholding.
I missed an official Trading Day, and got very annoyed, which is why I’m typing all this, so you don’t make the same mistake.
You may think that there is a lot to read on this page.
That’s because you have bought a heavily regulated asset that is subject to many international laws.
In the UK, buying and selling company shares is very similar to buying and selling a house.
It’s that big a deal.
If you bought one or two shares recently to join a beer club, you probably have nothing to worry about. Just enjoy the beer club.
But if you invested early, or a lot, there is potentially a considerable amount of money at stake, so it’s well worth the read, not only here but elsewhere. 😉
So here’s what you have to do:
1) Register your shareholding at https://www-uk.computershare.com/investor/
You will need your Shareholder Reference Number, and the post code you used when you bought your shares. This is what those emails and letters many of us ignored told us to do.
2) Keep the account up to date with your contact details at all times.
Shares in companies are highly regulated, and much of what happens is done by post and hard copy paperwork.
You will be sent letters to your registered address about any important changes to your investment. If your address isn’t up to date, you will not get these letters when you need them.
Sounds simple, doesn’t it, but I reckon possibly 100,000 of the 200,000 current BrewDog investors have never done this.
Don’t be a numpty, and miss out on a profitable opportunity should it happen, and sort your account out NOW.
If you don’t sort this, you will only have yourself to blame.
It is no one else’s responsibility, not even BrewDog’s, if you don’t properly register your shareholding.
If you are having problems getting into your Computershare account, no one but you can sort it. I can no more help you with this than I can with your bank account. It is important and personal to you, and you have to do it yourself.
If you are having problems, there are help functions on Computershare’s own website.
You can also email equitypunks@brewdog.com to ask for help.
As well as having access to Computershare to control your investment, the following actions are also YOUR OWN responsibility when you buy shares in any company:
1) You need to keep a record of how many shares you bought, when you bought them, and what you paid for them.
2) When you sell them it is your own responsibility to report any profits or losses to your own tax authority.
Regular problems you may need to sort out to get, or regain, control of your investment include:
1) Having more than one Computershare account because you used a slightly different version of your name or address when you bought more than once. Occasionally this happens for no apparent reason at all.
As long as you have online access to them all, it isn’t really a problem, but it can be complicated to merge accounts. Contact equitypunks@brewdog.com first, as Computershare’s own staff are often not well briefed on Brewdog.
2) If your name or title has changed, or your address has changed since you bought your shares, you will need to update these at ComputerShare before you can control your shares. A change of address may be possible online as long as you haven’t already lost access to your online account.
Proof of ID etc. may be required. Usually by post, with original documentation rather than copies. I’ve heard stories where this has taken many months to sort.
3) Problems with joint accounts.
Every shareholder has legal protection for their investment. If you are the lead shareholder, but have lost contact with another joint shareholder, it will be a nightmare to sort this.
4) Accounts in the name of minors under the age of 18.
You thought it was a nice idea to buy your new-born some BrewDog shares.
To make any changes you will have to prove you have legal authority, or wait until the shareholder achieves the age of majority.
I’ve been told it is easier to wait.
5) You haven’t accessed your account for a while and are locked out.
Easy to sort if you haven’t changed physical address, email address, got married, or called yourself Andy instead of Andrew at some point in previous contact about your shareholding.
6) Thinking that the paper share certificate you got many years ago is all you need to worry about.
Sorry, they are no longer valid. Get over it, and access your new valid ones online at ComputerShare. That paper certificate may help you to prove your own the online shares, but on it’s own it is worthless.
Things not to worry about:
1) Having more than one SRN (Shareholder Reference Number) in your one Computershare account.
2) Having more than one share certificate. This is normal, as you get a new one for each separate purchase, or if there has been a share split.
3) The address on any share certificate is the one you had when you bought them. This is never updated. As long as your account has your current address, that is all that matters.
B Shares not held at Computershare:
The only people who will have BrewDog B shares anywhere other than Computershare are folk who have transferred them elsewhere themselves, or bought on an official Trading Day and didn’t arrange to have the shares transferred to ComputerShare.
Instructions to do this were in the Trading Day information, but I know several people who didn’t read this either.
People in this category will have BrewDog UK plc B shares resting at www.share.com (formerly called TheShareCentre), and they will not be able to access them again until they pay the outstanding monthly custodian charges that this company charges.
Buyers (and unsuccessful sellers) in the 31/8/22 Trading Day will have their shares retained by Jarvis, unless they pay to have them moved to ComputerShare.
I may add more to this page if anything else comes to mind.
You can find more information on the BrewDog Investors Forum.
It is a closed site for valid investors only.
If you don’t have access to it email equitypunks@brewdog.com