Ellon, Aberdeenshire-based craft brewing firm BrewDog announced it bought Draft House, which has 14 bars across London and the South East of England.

Alongside his role as managing director of BrewDog Bars, David McDowall will become managing director of Draft House, taking the reins from Draft House founder Charlie McVeigh.

McDowall said: “At BrewDog we are obsessed with making other people as passionate about craft beer as we are, and in speaking with the Draft House team we recognised that there was a great opportunity to combine our efforts and really have an impact on the UK bar landscape by working together.

“Draft House has got an incredible team of engaged people and we’ll be doing everything we can to empower them in their business and offer them the support they need to achieve their career goals.

“The two most important things for us are our beer and our people and we’re excited to extend that to our new family at Draft House and would like to offer a massive welcome to every single one of them.”

All 213 Draft House staff will now join BrewDog and be offered Cicerone beer industry training as well as “support” if they wish to apply to the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) and the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP).

Draft House founder Charlie McVeigh said: “Nine years have passed since the first Draft House launched, and it has been a truly remarkable journey of discovery.

“We’ve built an awesome business, and more importantly, a team right at the heart of the UK’s beer revolution.

“I am immensely proud of what we’ve achieved together and delighted to hand the business over to BrewDog for its next stage of growth.

“Draft House couldn’t be in better hands.”