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Nightcap explores deal for Revolution Bars Group but hasn’t yet made an offer: Revolution Bars Group – the operator of the Revolution, Revolución de Cuba and Peach Pubs brands – has revealed that Nightcap – owner of the Cocktail Club, the Adventure Bar Group, Dirty Martini and the Barrio Familia group of 46 bars – has explored a deal for the business but hasn’t yet made an offer. Revolution Bars Group was responding to a Sky News report that Nightcap and Rekom UK, the nightclub and bar operator, have expressed an interest in buying part or all of Revolution Bars Group. A number of private equity firms are also said to have been planning to submit offers. Revolution Bars Group stated: “The board of Revolution Bars Group notes the recent press speculation and confirms that it has held an exploratory meeting with Nightcap regarding a range of possible transactions including a possible offer for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Revolution Bars Group. Nightcap is not participating in the formal sales process, as announced on 10 April 2024. There can be no certainty that any firm offer will be made for Revolution Bars Group, nor as to the terms on which any firm offer might be made. In accordance with rule 2.6(a) of the code, Nightcap is required, by no later than 5pm (London time) on 30 May 2024, being 28 days after today’s date, to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Revolution Bars Group in accordance with rule 2.7 of the code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which rule 2.8 of the code applies. This deadline can be extended with the consent of the Takeover Panel in accordance with rule 2.6(c) of the code. A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.” Revolution Bars Group announced this week that it was postponing its general meeting, which had been scheduled to take place today (Thursday, 2 May) 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 a restructuring plan. Under this process, it plans to close 18 of its circa 80 sites, of which six are already currently shut, and impose a rent reduction at 14 sites to enable the group to return to profitability at a sustainable level. The company is grappling with rising costs and a downturn in trading. Its stock market value has slumped by nearly 75% over the last 12 months, and it now has a market valuation of little more than £6m. If the restructuring plan fails to gain sufficient approval from creditors, the only viable alternative for the company would be a sale. About 2,500 people work for the group, which floated in London for the second time in 2015.

Variety of experiential leisure operators to feature in next New Openings Database being released to Premium Club members tomorrow: The next Propel New Openings Database will be sent to Premium Club members tomorrow (Friday, 3 May). The database will show the details of 130 site openings, including which company has opened a site or its plans to open one in the future. It will have details on what type of site it is and its location, and there will also be a website link to the businesses. The database is published on a monthly basis and Premium Club members will also receive a 6,700-word report on the 130 new additions to the database. The database includes new openings in the experiential leisure sector such as Electric Shuffle opening its largest UK venue yet in Manchester, Golf Fang making its debut in London later this year with an opening in Waterloo, and inflatable theme park operator Jumpin Fun opening in Bristol this summer. Premium Club members also receive access to five other databases: the Multi-Site Database, in association with Virgate; the Turnover & Profits Blue Book; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisor Database; the UK Food and Beverage Franchisee Database; and the Who’s Who of UK Hospitality. Plus, all members will be offered a 20% discount on tickets to five Propel paid-for events – The Excellence in Pub Retailing Conference (14 May), Social Media for Profit (18 July), the Talent and Training Conference (1 October) and Restaurant Marketer and Innovator (two days in January 2025). Operators will also be able to send up to four members of staff to each of our four Multi-Club Conferences for free. Premium Club members receive their daily Propel Info newsletter 11 hours earlier than standard subscribers, at 7pm the evening before. They also receive videos of presentations at eight Propel conference events two weeks after they are held. This represents around 100 videos of industry insight over the course of the year. Premium Club members will be sent a dedicated monthly newsletter that will highlight key updates in the sector and direct subscribers to all the vital content their membership offers. Premium Club members also receive exclusive opinion columns every Friday at 5pm, which include the thoughts of Propel group editor Mark Wingett and a host of industry leaders from across the sector. A Premium Club subscription costs an annual sum of £495 plus VAT for operators and £595 plus VAT for suppliers. Companies can now have an unlimited number of people receive access to Premium Club for a year for £995 plus VAT – whether they are an operator or a supplier. Email kai.kirkman@propelinfo.com today to sign up.

Loss of VAT-free shopping ‘impacting the hospitality sector’ say retail bosses: Retail bosses have warned the government that its decision not to restore VAT-free shopping for foreign tourists is having a knock-on effect on other industries. Janine Constantin-Russell, managing director of the outlet shopping centre at the O2 in south east London, has accused the Treasury of not considering the effect that scrapping the scheme has had on hotels, pubs and restaurants in the UK. She told The Times: “The government isn’t listening at all. It’s looking at the outgoings instead of looking at how much a tourist would spend across the wider hospitality sector. Every destination and attraction is affected, not just the luxury brands. We’re being asked to do business with one hand behind our backs. We’re having to fight even harder to ensure that tourists visit the UK as they know they can get discounts in other countries such as France and Italy.” The tax-free shopping scheme, which allowed international shoppers to reclaim 20% VAT on purchases, was axed by Rishi Sunak in 2021 when he was chancellor. The current chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, ordered a review by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) after hundreds of calls from business leaders for its reversal. However, he decided not to scrap the “tourist tax” in the budget after the OBR concluded that estimates it made in 2020, which influenced the initial decision to scrap VAT-free shopping, “still appear reasonable”. It had estimated that restoring VAT-free shopping would cost the Exchequer £2bn. Michael Ward, the managing director of Harrods, said the government should allow a third-party provider, such as Global Blue or Planet, to run a new tax refund scheme for tourists in the UK. “Ideally, we would like them [the third-party providers] to be able to do it because they’ve proven they can do it in Singapore and in other countries,” he said. “That would be the optimum way of doing it.”

Marcus Wareing – I no longer want to feel the heat of a professional kitchen: Marcus Wareing has said he has hung up his chef’s jacket in a professional kitchen for the last time. After shutting his restaurant at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge for the last time on Boxing Day, the judge of MasterChef: The Professionals is on a “new path”, which has already taken him to Provence on what he hopes was just the first leg of an epic exploration of European cuisine. Initially, new restaurant projects were promised but Wareing said he has no enthusiasm for standing at the pass again. Speaking during an interview about his new BBC2 show, Marcus Wareing: Simply Provence, he told The Times: “I don’t need to open another restaurant. I’ve done a lot. Since the age of 25, I’ve been dealing with chefs and rotas and suppliers and bills and accounts and HR and customers and complaints. It’s been fabulous. But do I want to do it for ever? No chance. I don’t want to continue on the same boring path. I wanted a change in my life and to do different things.” He closed his other restaurant, the Gilbert Scott, at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London, in 2021. “I’ve chosen a new path,” he said. “I’m free of my professional kitchen to do the things that I want to do. A lot of chefs have to carry on cooking to the end because they need to pay their bills.”