UK’s biggest nightclub chain closes 17 venues immediately including Pryzm and Atik after plunging into administration
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.
Today, it announced 17 of its venues will close while the remaining 24 "strongest performing" ones have been sold or are remaining open and operating as normal.
The nightclub operator said it had "made every effort" to redeploy affected staff to other parts of the business.
It added 1,000 jobs had been saved but that "some redundancies" would be possible.
Bosses moved to confirm the restructuing of Rekom does not affect its Nordic operations.
Read more in Money
Peter Marks, Rekom UK's chairman, continued: “We have informed all colleagues within the organisation of the unfortunate developments that have taken place over the last 18 days.
"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.
"Whilst we still recognise there are continued challenges facing the late-night sector, we can now look to the future with optimism.
"We are confident that this restructure gives Rekom UK a strong core estate that will continue to have a relevant and engaging business proposition in line with consumers’ changing social habits and behaviours."
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
Meanwhile, 24 sites will remain open and operating as normal for now. The full list of venues staying open 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
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.
In December, Pryzym closed the doors on one of its nine venues, leaving locals devastated.
Elsewhere, 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.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
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.