More Trouble For Bira 91 As Lenders Take Control Of The Beer Cafe

In more trouble for cash-starved beer maker Bira 91, its lenders Anicut Capital and Japan-based Kirin Holdings have taken control of the alcobev startup’s subsidiary and renowned cafe chain The Beer Cafe. 

Bira 91 parent B9 Beverages acquired The Beer Cafe’s parent Better Than Before (BTB) in 2022. 

Notably, Kirin Holdings is also an equity investor in Bira 91. The startup raised $100 Mn in two separate rounds led by Kirin Holdings in 2022. Additionally, it raised a debt of INR 208 Cr from Kirin Holdings in 2024 and another INR 400 Cr from various banks and NBFCs to use as working capital to overcome its legal troubles. 

The development was first reported by The Morning Context. As per the report, B9 Beverages had pledged the shares of BTB as collateral for loans and failed to pay the debt. Following this, the lenders took control of The Beer Cafe, which owns 42 pubs across the country. 

While Anicut Capital declined to comment on the development, Bira 91 founder Ankur Jain told Inc42 that the actions of the lenders were illegal. 

“BTB continues to be a wholly owned subsidiary of B9. Some lenders have taken actions that are contravention with contracts and illegal, and B9 has disputed these actions,” he said in a statement.

The founder said that Bira 91 has also challenged Anicut Capital’s move in the Delhi High Court. 

“The high court passed an interim order on October 17, 2025, which placed a restriction on Anicut on any sale or creation of third-party interests on BTB shares,” Jain added.

This comes a few days after it was reported that Bira 91 is planning to raise $100 Mn (around INR 888.5 Cr) to revive its business. 

Amid a cash crunch, the startup’s shareholders, in September this year, approved issuance and allotment of 30.76 Lakh shares worth INR 100 Cr to its creditors as non-cash consideration to settle their outstanding dues.

The creditors who received equity shares under this arrangement included Chhattisgarh Distilleries Limited, Anoop Prakash Sharma Family Trust, and Alt-Alpha Financial TechnologiesPrivate Limited. 

How A Name Change Hit Bira91 

Founded in 2015 by Jain, Bira 91 has raised more than $449 Mn from investors like Peak XV Partners, Sofina, among others. The company saw rapid growth and became a renowned brand within a few years of its inception. It posted a revenue of INR 479 Cr in FY20 and INR 718 Cr in FY22. 

However, while the startup was seeing strong growth, it kept on raising funds to meet its business requirement. As per the Companies Act, 2013, a private limited company can have a maximum of 200 shareholders. Once this limit is crossed, the company must convert into a public limited company, changing its legal structure and compliance requirements. 

As Bira 91 was close to exceeding this limit, it was forced to convert to a public entity. This not just changed its name to B9 Beverages Limited from B9 Beverage Pvt Ltd but also pushed the company to re-acquire licences, permits, and product labels in every state. 

From January 2023 to June 2023, Bira 91 was not allowed to sell its products legally because each state treated the entity as new and required fresh approvals. This regulatory hurdle caused significant sales disruptions and inventory losses.

Around this time, the company had to let go multiple employees due to cash crunch, received tax notices from the state government and saw its independent directors leaving the board. 

Consequently, its revenue declined 22% YoY to INR 638 Cr in FY24 and loss jumped 68% to INR 748 Cr. 

Back in May, Jain told Inc42, “I think there is a lot of work to be done for us to repair the business and get to profitability. But we have survived probably the most debilitating part of our journey thus far after Covid. We turned 10 in February this year, so it’s a fresh start for us.”

Around the same time, multiple reports claimed that B9 Beverages Ltd delayed interest payouts to some of its debt investors through supply chain financing platform KredX. 

Meanwhile, amid its attempts to raise fresh funding, it was reported earlier this month that more than 250 employees of Bira 91 approached the board, seeking changes in the leadership and removal of Jain from its management as the company failed to pay salaries and incentives on time.