BrewDog has divested its Highlands rewilding estate, Kinrara, which it purchased in 2020 for £8.8 million. This decision comes after the company reported significant losses of £37 million in its beer operations last year. Initially, BrewDog had promised to plant millions of trees over 50 square kilometers of the land as part of an environmental initiative funded through sales of its Lost Forest beer. However, the company later revised these claims, indicating that the estate was actually 37 square kilometers and the tree-planting area even smaller, yielding a potential carbon absorption of one million tonnes over a century, rather than the 550,000 tonnes annually it had previously stated.
The project faced ongoing challenges, including allegations that native trees were not thriving and that certain buildings had been sold off. Under new management, BrewDog disclosed its financial struggles, which included a slowdown in sales growth and the closure of 10 bars, including its flagship location in Aberdeen.
Kinrara has been sold to Oxygen Conservation, an organization focused on rewilding and backed by affluent investors. Founded in 2019, Oxygen Conservation has quickly expanded its portfolio to include 12 estates across over 20,200 hectares in the UK, emphasizing that nature restoration can also be economically viable. Rich Stockdale, the CEO of Oxygen Conservation, rejected the notion that BrewDog’s initial restoration efforts had failed. He stated intentions to continue the peatland restoration and woodland creation projects initiated by BrewDog.
Meanwhile, NatureScot, Scotland’s government conservation agency, expressed optimism about the potential for raising more than £100 million in private and public funding for nature restoration projects, despite some skepticism regarding this funding model. Oxygen Conservation values its holdings at approximately £300 million and aims to generate income through carbon credits, renewable energy, and eco-tourism initiatives.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/02/brewdog-sells-scottish-rewilding-estate-it-bought-only-five-years-ago