Some of the leading players in Britain’s night-time economy are looking to cherry-pick assets from Revolution Bars, the London-listed leisure group.
Sky News has learnt that Nightcap and Rekom, two rival bar and nightclub operators, have expressed an interest in buying part or all of Revolution.
A number of private equity firms are also said to have been planning to submit offers ahead of a deadline set by advisers to Revolution on Wednesday.
The scope of the interest from Nightcap and Rekom was unclear, and it remained possible that one or both would not table formal offers.
Revolution Bars announced this week that it was postponing its annual meeting, which had been scheduled to take place on Thursday, to “provide additional time to fully explore its strategic options”.
The company has received commitments from investors to raise a £12.5m lifeline as it prepares to launch an insolvency mechanism called a restructuring plan.
Under this process, it would close a significant number of venues, resulting in hundreds of job losses.
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The company, which owns Revolucion de Cuba and Peach Pubs, is grappling with rising costs and a downturn in trading.
Its stock, which is suspended, has slumped by nearly 75% over the last 12 months, and it now has a market valuation of little more than £6m.
Revolution Bars wants to close about a quarter of its 80 venues.
If the restructuring plan fails to gain sufficient approval from creditors, the only viable alternative for the company would be a sale that would ascribe little value to its equity or administration.
About 2,500 people work for the group, which floated in London for the second time in 2015.
Revolution said in January that it would shut eight sites, blaming declining spending among younger consumers.
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Revolution declined to comment, while Nightcap and Rekom did not respond to a request for comment.
