Late-night bars formerly run by collapsed chain Po Na Na moved out of administration today following a deal involving a former director.
David Phelps, who became commercial director following the sale of his business to Po Na Na in 1999, is part of a group buying 28 venues.
The specially formed company Barvest, which is backed by private equity firm Avanti Capital, beat off strong competition to land the bars.
Po Na Na, which operated 48 outlets, went into administration in May after running into financial difficulties earlier in the year.
Recovery partners at Grant Thornton closed or sold 15 of the venues and still have to offload five sites, at Fulham, Bristol, Swansea, Portsmouth and Leeds.
The remaining 28 bars and nightclubs have been sold to Barvest in a deal which is worth up to £6m. They include the prestigious Hammersmith Palais, Foundation in Newcastle and London club Embargo.
The units are all profitable at an operating level and are described as the best performing bars in the company’s portfolio.
Many were formerly owned by Phelps prior to the sale of his business DP Leisure Group in 1999.
Phelps said certain clubs would now be subject to refurbishment with new sound and lighting systems.
He added: “The message to the world is that Po Na Na is looking fit, trim and raring to go.”
As well as the bars, which generated sales of £23.4m and contributed profits of £4.3m in the year to 31 March, Barvest has also secured the rights to the Po Na Na name.
Po Na Na branded bars acquired in the deal are at Brighton, Edinburgh, Oxford, Swindon, Reading, Harrogate, Manchester, Bristol, Bath, Cambridge, Lincoln, Norwich, Leicester, Chelsea and Wimbledon.
There are also Fez clubs at Putney, Reading, Bristol, Bath, Cambridge and Cheltenham with other branded venues at Clapham, Bath, Cheltenham, Hammersmith, Fulham, Chelsea and Newcastle.
Po Na Na was forced into administration after failing to secure funding facilities from its bankers. It had been hampered by tough trading conditions and difficulties in selling underperforming pubs.
References: EGi News 21/08/03
