Nightcap adds The Piano Works to its portfolio

The Cocktail Club and Dirty Martini operator plans to roll out The Piano Works brand alongside its other concepts following the purchase.

Piano Works was launched in 2015​​ at a Victorian warehouse site in Farringdon as an interactive live music venue. It also operates a site in Covent Garden and since November 2023 has had a successful residency within Nightcap’s Barrio Covent Garden venue.

“The Piano Works is another excellent addition to our group. I very much look forward to the future of this concept. It adds a whole new area of expertise to Nightcap and a different entertainment offer, bringing live music to our customers,” says Nightcap CEO Sarah Willingham.

“We have known The Piano Works concept for a long time and look forward to working with the founders and their dedicated staff. After the very successful residency in our Barrio bar in Covent Garden at Christmas we are delighted to be able to partner with them and provide the opportunities to bring this great entertainment concept to other cities across the UK.”

Nightcap, which operates 46 bars under the Cocktail Club, Tonight Josephine, Dirty Martini, Blame Gloria, Disrepute, Escapologist, Nikki’s, and Luna Springs brands, has also raised £1m through a share offer.

The group reports that trading since the start of 2024 has been below expectations and that while revenues for 2024 are expected to be in line with expectations, EBITDA is expected to be around the £2m to £2.5m mark. The business says it will be adversely impacted by the higher costs resulting from the acquisition and business integration of Dirty Martini and The Piano Works, train strikes, the cost of living crisis and the National Living Wage increase.

“2023 has been a tough year for the hospitality industry with numerous head winds which have impacted Nightcap and our entire industry. Whilst we will still see the impact of these challenges continuing in the coming months, the outlook for our next financial year looks very promising,” adds Willingham.

“For the current year we are on track to achieve significant growth and hit our revenue growth targets.

“It’s been a very important year in the life cycle of a very fast growing business; both through acquisition and through organic growth. Now it is time to move onto the next stage and enjoy the benefits of the scale we have achieved in record time.”