Britain's largest nightclub chain is closing seventeen locations after coming into administration
Britain's largest nightclub operator has announced that 17 of its venues will close with immediate effect after going into administration.
Rekom UK, owner of brands including Atik and Pryzm, appointed administrators in January to conduct a review of its operations.
Today it announced that 17 of its locations will close, while the remaining 24 'strong performing' locations have been sold or remain open and operating normally.
The nightclub operator said it had made “every effort” to redeploy affected staff to other parts of the business.
It added that 1,000 jobs had been saved but that “some redundancies” would be possible.
Bosses have moved to confirm that Rekom's restructuring will not affect its Nordic operations.
Peter Marks, Chairman of Rekom UK, continued: “We have informed all colleagues within the organization of the unfortunate developments that have taken place over the past 18 days.
“This outcome follows an extremely difficult period for the night-time sector, thanks to the combination of the cost of living crisis which is particularly hard hitting younger generations and students, and the rising national living wage alongside higher business rates and operating costs.
“While we continue to recognize that there are ongoing challenges for the night-time sector, we can now look to the future with optimism.
“We are confident that this restructuring gives Rekom UK a strong core domain that will continue to have a relevant and compelling business proposition in line with the changing social habits and behaviors of consumers.”
The full list of 17 locations closing with immediate effect is:
- Basildon Unit 7
- Birmingham PRYZM
- Coventry JumpinJaks
- Dartford ATIK
- Exeter Unit 1
- Kings Lynn Bar & Beyond
- Leeds PRYZM
- Nottingham PRYZM
- Oldham liquid and envy
- Plymouth PRYZM
- Portsmouth PRYZM
- Romford ATIK
- Swansea level 17
- Watford PRYZM
- Watford Steinbeck & Shaw
- Windsor ATIK
- Wrexham ATIK
In the meantime, 24 locations will remain open and continue to operate normally for the time being. The full list of locations that remain open is:
- ATIK hull
- ATIK Oxford
- ATIK Tamworth
- ATIK & Vinyl Gloucester
- Bar & Beyond Chelmsford
- Bar & beyond Norwich
- Kame Ashford
- Cameo Eastbourne
- Cameo & Myu Bournemouth
- Circuit Cardiff
- Cardiff District
- Heidi's Beer Bar – Birmingham
- Heidi's Beer Bar – Cardiff
- Kuda York
- Proud Mary – Cardiff
- Proud Mary – Swansea
- PRYZM Brighton
- PRYZM Bristol
- PRYZM Kingston
- Steinbeck and Shaw Brighton
- Steinbeck & Shaw Cardiff
- Switch to Southampton
- The Terrace, Exeter
- Vinyl Cambridge
Rekom was run as Deltic Group before falling into administration at the end of 2020.
It came after the severe consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, but was subsequently bought by Scandinavian nightclub operator Rekom.
However, in early 2023, chairman Peter Marks said he was “desperately concerned” about the impact of the crisis on the cost of living for students, who he claimed were socializing less due to price pressures.
It comes at a time when the UK nightclub industry is taking a hit, with a number of venues closing in recent years.
High energy costs have crippled businesses and rising inflation has seen punters cut back on nights out.
In December, Pryzym closed the doors of one of its nine locations, leaving locals devastated.
Elsewhere, Britain's oldest casino closed for the final time after 195 years in business.
And a The popular Glasgow nightclub announced its shock closure in August.
What does going into administration mean?
When a company goes into administration, all control is transferred to an appointed administrator, who must be a recognized insolvency practitioner.
Their goal is to leverage the company's assets and operations to repay creditors.
Once the administrator takes over, a moratorium will be imposed on the company and all legal actions will be halted.
Once the administrator has taken over, there isn't much that can be done to reverse the process.
The administrator will write to your creditors and Companies House to let them know that they have been appointed.
They will try to prevent the company from being liquidated, but if that fails, the liquidator will pay as much of the company's debts as possible from its assets.
The administrator has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what he plans to do.
This should be sent to creditors, employees and Companies House, inviting them to approve or amend the plans at a meeting.
Do you have a money problem that needs to be solved? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.
Moreover, you can join us Sun Money chats and tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.