Nightclub bosses appeal for bailout

Leaders from Deltic Group, Fabric, Revolution Bars and Stonegate will meet Alok Sharma tomorrow (24 November) in the hope that the industry can secure a bailout following eight months of closure.

Deltic chief executive Peter Marks says the industry has not been treated as a priority.

“Every day you hear these announcements coming out from government supporting this and supporting that and there’s still nothing for us, we’ve got crumbs,” he says.

Like all nightclubs, Deltic, which owns the Pryzm and Bar & Beyond brands and operates 52 venues across the UK, has faced the enforced closure of its sites since the beginning of the first national lockdown in March.

In October the group's owners – which include its management team and a number of individual shareholders – entered the company into an emergency sale process.

Having recently warned landlords that the company faces collapse unless a sale is agreed​​ imminently, Marks adds that the talks with Sharma are 'crucial' in securing a buyer for Deltic.

“I will have no problem getting one of these investor groups to back the business in the future if they know there is a safety net," he said.

“If there isn’t, then chances are that this becomes just a bet, a punt."

The crisis has already forced many business in the night-time economy to make swathes of staff redundant.

Earlier this month Revolution Bars launched a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA)​​, which will lead to the permanent closure of six of its 76 sites.

Last week the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), which represents 1,200 independent bars, clubs and live music venues across the UK, said it feared nightclubs will become 'extinct' in UK culture​​ as businesses continue to face no roadmap for reopening and growing financial pressures.

It claimed business owners within the night time economy are 'frustrated and angry' at being forced to remain closed despite working within the Government guidance and 'many' are now considering taking legal action.