Revolution Bars: Chain to close 25 sites as significant restructuring plan approved
Revolution Bars’s restructuring plan has been approved by the company’s major stakeholders. In an announcement published today, the company said its plan has been sanctioned by the Court and has been supported by its lenders.
The group said it would close as many as 25 bar and pub locations as part of the plan.
It said that when completed, the company will operate 65 sites after the restructuring. It previously operated 90 bars in the UK under the Revolution Bars, Revolución de Cuba and Peach Pubs brands.
Revolution also raised £12.5m in emergency funding.
The group said the plan would “amend and extend” Revolution’s secured lending facilities, which will include closing loss-making sites, and will implement “necessary rent reductions” on other sites to “enable them to return to profitability at a sustainable level.”
Overall, Revolution said the plan would “deliver a significant annualised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) improvement” of £3.8m.
The company had put itself on the market but withdrew from the process and chose to undergo a restructuring instead.
Alongside the update, the group also published a trading update. It projected EBITDA of £3m for the year, with trading “undoubtedly impacted by the uncertainty and distraction of the restructuring process” as well as its formal sale process earlier this year.
In 2023, the company reported a pre-tax loss of £22.2m.
Net bank debt stood at £23.8m on August 8, excluding lease liabilities and without fundraising from the restructuring plan.
Rob Pitcher, CEO of Revolution Bars said: “We are very pleased that the Court has sanctioned the restructuring plan…The group is now well diversified across the key brands, providing a more secure financial base and we look forward to the future with improved optimism.
“We know this has been a very difficult period for all of our teams both in our sites and in our support office and I’d like to thank them for their support and resilience.
“I would also like to thank the group’s wider stakeholders for their support, including our secured lender, current shareholders, our new and existing shareholders who have participated in the fundraising and all our advisors who have assisted us in the development of the plan”.