Bill Ackman’s Billionaire Bet On Much Loved British Watch Brand Has Been Years In The Making

• Bill Ackman now owns 63% of Bremont through his newly created Bremont Long Term Trust.
• Bremont launched its new Altitude collection at Watches & Wonders 2025.
• Ackman is positioning Bremont as Britain’s answer to Swiss watchmaking.

It’s not every day you bump into a billionaire at Watches & Wonders, but there we were in Geneva when we saw Bill Ackman. Yes, that’s Bill Ackman. Posing for photos in a Martin-Baker ejection seat, asking questions, eyeing details. Turns out, the Pershing Square founder wasn’t just there to window shop. He was in town to back a bold new chapter in British watchmaking. And he wasn’t shy about telling us how deep in he really is.

Ackman is now the majority owner and non-executive chairman of Bremont, the fiercely independent British brand founded by Nick and Giles English. Not a brand deal. Not a private equity flip. A full-scale, capital-C commitment. Through his newly minted Bremont Long Term Trust, Ackman controls 63% of the company. And he’s bringing the same strategic firepower that made him a billionaire hedge fund manager.

A Bremont Boutique in London Started it All

But let’s rewind. The story doesn’t start in Geneva. It started three years ago in London, when Ackman happened to stroll past Bremont’s boutique and wandered in. What began as a spontaneous shopping trip ended with him buying several watches as gifts… and then asking who owned the company.

The store manager told him about the English brothers and their unbelievable backstory. A fatal plane crash involving their father had led them to start a watch brand rooted in aviation, adventure and British engineering.

Ackman was hooked. He sent a note to Nick and Giles, praising the watches and offering to invest. Soon after, he was on Zoom with Nick English, learning that a legacy investor was looking to exit. A few months later, Ackman was in. First passively, then gradually acquiring more equity, and just last week, injecting a fresh round of growth capital to help Bremont scale.

So what’s the play here? According to Ackman, this is part investment, part passion, part mission. “The British actually created the watch industry,” he said. “Rolex, notably, was a British company before it moved to Switzerland, with many of the most important technical innovations and complications of the industry having been invented in England in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.”

Bill Ackman’s Billion-Pound Passion Project

Ackman wants to bring British watchmaking back, and he’s putting serious skin in the game. After backing the English brothers, he helped recruit Davide Cerrato as Bremont’s new CEO in 2023.

If the name rings a bell, it’s because Cerrato is the guy who resurrected Tudor and created the Black Bay. He’s since overhauled Bremont’s design language, materials and pricing strategy. That includes bringing in 904L steel, the same grade used by Rolex, upgrading movements, tightening collections, and rebranding Bremont around three key categories: Land (Terra Nova), Sea (Supermarine) and Air (Altitude).

That last one, Altitude, just dropped in Geneva. Bremont used Watches & Wonders 2025 to launch the new aviation-focused collection, inspired by their long-standing partnership with Martin Baker. Alongside it came some heavyweight complications: two new jumping hour references, a 12-piece tourbillon and a 50-piece perpetual calendar. For a company once known mainly for pilot’s watches, it’s a serious flex.

But it’s not just about watches. It’s about vision. Ackman says this is one of the only real hobbies he has outside of tennis. But if you’ve followed his investing career, you know this isn’t hobby energy. This is, ‘I’m going to build something big, energy’. He’s not chasing short-term dividends or a flashy IPO. He’s playing the long game. British heritage. Vertical integration. Scarcity. Narrative.

Bremont Is Made in Britain

Right now, Bremont makes around 10,000 watches per year. That’s minuscule compared to Rolex’s 1.2 million or even Patek Philippe’s 70,000. But that scarcity is by design. The watches are developed, assembled and serviced at The Wing, a sprawling 35,000-square-foot HQ in Henley-on-Thames with room to grow. Bremont also has serious military credentials, having designed timepieces for over 500 elite squadrons across the UK, US and allied forces.

And yes, there’s a marketing play here too. Ackman has started documenting Bremont’s journey on X (formerly Twitter), offering Drive to Survive–style updates on the brand’s progress. Both the wins and the inevitable setbacks. The vibe is transparent, educational, and maybe just a little tongue-in-cheek. He’s even promising free Bremont watches to users who submit helpful feedback or business ideas.

It’s not every day a billionaire decides to reboot an entire national industry for fun. But that’s exactly what this looks like. A bet on British watchmaking, on storytelling, and on the idea that not everyone wants to wear the same Rolex Daytona as their accountant.

Will it work? That’s the billion-pound question. But if Bill Ackman’s track record is anything to go by, the smart money’s definitely watching.