THE UK’s biggest nightclub operator has announced 17 of its venues will close with immediate effect after plunging into administration.
Rekom UK, which owns brands including Atik and Pryzm, appointed administrators in January to carry out a review of its business.
1
Today, it announced 17 of its venues will close immediately while the remaining 24 “strongest performing” ones have been sold or will remain open and operating as normal.
Grant Thornton UK, brought in to restructure the company, said it had tried to find buyers for the sites but failed.
Meanwhile, Rekom UK cited the cost of living crisis and operational costs among some of the reasons for the closures.
It said it had “made every effort” to redeploy affected staff to other parts of the business, adding 1,000 jobs had been saved.
But, it said, “some redundancies” would be possible following today’s announcement.
Peter Marks, Rekom UK’s chairman, confirmed all colleagues in the firm had been informed about the closures.
He added: “This outcome follows an extremely difficult period for the late-night sector, thanks to the combination of the cost of living crisis hitting younger generations and students particularly hard, as well as the rising National Living Wage alongside increased business rates and costs of operating.”
Mr Marks said Rekom UK was “confident” the restructure would help keep the business financially viable.
The full list of 17 venues which are closing with immediate effect is:
- Basildon Unit 7
- Birmingham PRYZM
- Coventry Jumpin Jaks
- Dartford ATIK
- Exeter Unit 1
- Kings Lynn Bar & Beyond
- Leeds PRYZM
- Nottingham PRYZM
- Oldham Liquid & Envy
- Plymouth PRYZM
- Portsmouth PRYZM
- Romford ATIK
- Swansea Level 17
- Watford PRYZM
- Watford Steinbeck & Shaw
- Windsor ATIK
- Wrexham ATIK
It comes after local news reported the Pryzm venue in Watford would be vacated by January 5 after its lease came to an end.
However, at the time, Rekom said it was “discussing options” for the site.
And punters in Plymouth were left devastated last year after the Pryzm venue there announced its New Year’s Eve party would be its last opening date, but it appears the site did not close until today.
Meanwhile, 24 sites will remain open and operating as normal for now following today’s announcement. The full list is:
- ATIK Hull
- ATIK Oxford
- ATIK Tamworth
- ATIK & Vinyl Gloucester
- Bar & Beyond Chelmsford
- Bar & Beyond Norwich
- Cameo Ashford
- Cameo Eastbourne
- Cameo & Myu Bournemouth
- Circuit Cardiff
- District Cardiff
- Heidi’s Bier Bar – Birmingham
- Heidi’s Bier Bar – Cardiff
- Kuda York
- Proud Mary – Cardiff
- Proud Mary – Swansea
- PRYZM Brighton
- PRYZM Bristol
- PRYZM Kingston
- Steinbeck & Shaw Brighton
- Steinbeck & Shaw Cardiff
- Switch Southampton
- The Terrace, Exeter
- Vinyl Cambridge
Bosses moved to confirm the restructuing of Rekom does not affect its Nordic operations.
Rekom had been run as Deltic Group before it collapsed into administration in late 2020.
It came following the heavy impact of the Covid-19 pandemic but was subsequently bought by Scandinavian nightclub operator Rekom.
However, by early 2023, chairman Peter Marks said he was “desperately concerned” about how the cost of living crisis was affecting students, who he claimed were socialising less due to price pressures.
It comes as the UK nightclub industry takes a hit, with a number of venues closing in recent years.
High energy costs have crippled businesses and soaring inflation has seen punters cutting back on nights out.
Figures from Business Rescue Expert reveal the number of nightclubs that went insolvent in 2022 was 512, up from 280 the year before.
From January to June 2023, over 400 nightclubs were unable to pay their debts, just half way through the year.
Britain’s oldest casino closed for the last time after 195 years in business.
And a popular Glasgow nightclub announced its shock closure in August.
What does going into administration mean?
When a company enters administration, all control is passed to an appointed administrator – who has to be a licensed insolvency practitioner.
Their goal is to leverage the company’s assets and business to repay creditors.
Once the administrator has taken over, a moratorium is placed around the company and stops all legal actions.
After the administrator takes over, there isn’t much that can be done to reverse the process.
The administrator will write to your creditors and Companies House to say they’ve been appointed.
They will try to stop the company being liquidated but if they can’t, the administrator will pay as much of a company’s debts as possible from the assets.
The administrator has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what they plan to do.
This must be sent to creditors, employees and Companies House and invite them to approve or amend the plans at a meeting.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.
