James Watt, co-founder and former CEO of Aberdeenshire craft beer firm BrewDog, said in a social media post on Monday he hopes to one day buy back BrewDog using his new beer company.

In May, Watt said he planned to launch a new beer business called Second Best — with free shares for “Equity Punk” investors who were wiped out in the bargain sale of BrewDog to Tilray Brands for £33 million.

Watt issued an “open invitation” to the “Equity Punk” investors who were left empty-handed in the sale of BrewDog to beer and cannabis firm Tilray.

“I am planning to allocate up to 19.3% of Second Best for you,” wrote Watt on LinkedIn in May. “You can claim the exact stake you once held in BrewDog, for free.”

Watt said: “No catches, no cash required, and your equity in Second Best will always rank alongside my own.

“You’ll own it. I’ll fund it. And I’ll dedicate myself to building it.

“You’re not shareholders this time. You’re Second Founders.”

In his latest social media post on Monday, Watt wrote:

“A couple of months ago, on Georgia Toffolo & my first wedding anniversary, I was devasted to came narrowly second in my bid to buy BrewDog back.

“I lost a business I dedicated almost 2 decades of my life to building. A business which, for better or worse, will always feel like an intrinsic part of me.

“What made it even harder was believing there was a better outcome on the table.

“My bid would have saved hundreds more jobs, kept more locations open, immediately reinstated the Real Living Wage and kept all Equity Punk investors whole.

“But sometimes things don’t work out the way you hope.

“So rather than looking backwards, I decided to build something new.

“I am launching Second Best – a brand-new beer brand and an open invitation.

“Any Equity Punk can claim the exact same stake they once held in BrewDog for free and over 19,000 have already registered to be part of Second Best.

“You will own it. I will fund it. And I will dedicate myself to building it.

“And here is the really cool thing, signing up for your free shares in Second Best isn’t just about a beer company – it’s about becoming part of whatever we build next.

“In the next couple of weeks, we will launch an entirely new drinks business.

“And every registered Equity Punk will automatically receive the exact same ownership stake in that brand new company too.

“For free.

“And if the opportunity ever does come around again in the future for me to buy BrewDog back, which I hope it does, then I would use the Second-Best company.

“Because the Equity Punks would already be locked in as co-owners.

“Equity Punks, you backed me once. This time, I’m backing you.”