Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), owner of the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in the UK, has ended its partnership with BrewDog early, following the craft beer company’s recent sale to US cannabis producer Tilray Brands.
BrewDog was first announced as an official partner of MCC and the official beer supplier of Lord’s in November 2024 as part of a four-year deal that kicked off in January 2025.
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Described at the time as a “first of its kind” deal, the agreement saw Lord’s feature a diverse range of BrewDog products last year, including low-and no-alcohol options, with the company gaining several activation opportunities each year.
However, the partnership has now come to a premature end shortly after it was announced that Tilray Brands, which sells medicinal marijuana products, had bought BrewDog’s brewery, brand, and 11 pubs in a £33 million ($44 million) rescue deal.
As soon as the deal was struck last week, 30 BrewDog bars were closed, resulting in 484 employees losing their jobs, while 220,000 “equity-punk” investors who crowdfunded the business in its early years have lost their initial outlays.
In a letter to members, first seen by news outlet The Independent, MCC chief executive Robert Lawson said: “I am writing to inform you that the MCC Committee has taken the decision to end its contracts with BrewDog, both as an official partner of MCC and as the official beer supplier at Lord’s.
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By GlobalData“Following recent changes to the brewery’s business operations, the club believes this is the right step to ensure certainty and continuity ahead of the 2026 season. A competitive tender process to appoint a new supplier for the coming season and beyond will now begin.
“We are proud that 2025 saw record beer sales at Lord’s, reflecting a strong first year of the partnership. However, our priority is to guarantee the high-quality matchday experience that members and visitors rightly expect; to do this, we need certainty from our suppliers.
“We thank BrewDog for their contribution over the past year.”
Lord's is widely considered one of the premium international cricket venues worldwide, and the England men's team has played two test matches there every home season for the last few decades.
It has also played host to several finals from major International Cricket Council events and will host the final of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup later this year.
Other commercial partners of the venue, which has a seated capacity of around 32,000, include global bank Barclays, champagne brand Veuve Clicquot, and Hendrick's Gin.
BrewDog, meanwhile, has two other high-profile agreements in place within sport, including a 10-year stadium naming rights deal with St Helens, of English rugby league’s Super League, struck last October and a sponsorship deal with English top-tier soccer club West Hem United.
Its deal with St Helens is one of the biggest commercial tie-ups in club history. Alongside the club’s stadium being renamed The BrewDog Stadium, the agreement sees the company gain visibility via the neck of first-team and replica shirts.
