Almost 600 hospitality jobs were lost following the rescue of Revel Collective after the administration confirmed the closure of 21 bars across the UK.
Around 590 jobs were cut after the group, which operates under the Revolution Bars and Revolución de Cuba brands, fell into administration and the rest of the company was sold as part of a break-up agreement.
Administrators at FTI Consulting said the closures were unavoidable given the ongoing pressure on trading. They cited higher employers’ social security contributions, increases in the national minimum wage and rising tariffs on spirits as having an “adverse” impact on the group’s financial performance.
The collapse and partial rescue of Revel Collective came just as the Chancellor unveiled a long-awaited support package for pubs after warning of widespread closures and job losses due to rising business.
Under the revised measures, pubs and music venues in England will receive a 15 percent discount on their business rate bills from April and will be protected from further increases for two years. However, other parts of the hospitality industry, including restaurants and hotels, were left out of the relief, causing frustration among industry leaders.
Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, said the support did not go far enough.
“The reality remains that restaurants and hotels still face significant challenges from back-to-back budgets,” she said, warning that many companies were being forced to make “increasingly difficult decisions around profitability, jobs and pricing.”
Revel Collective had repeatedly warned of the impact of higher employment costs following Rachel Reeves’ first Budget in 2024. The group said increases in employers’ national insurance and the national minimum wage would increase its cost base by more than £4 million a year, undermining efforts to stabilize performance despite cost-cutting and margin improvement measures.
As part of the administrative process, FTI Consulting confirmed two transactions that secure the future of 41 locations and 1,582 jobs.
Late-night operator Neos Hospitality Group, chaired by industry veteran Peter Marks, has acquired 20 venues from the property, saving around 800 jobs. Meanwhile, the group’s Peach Pubs business was sold to the Coral Pub Company, a newly formed company led by pub entrepreneur Ted Kennedy.
While the deals have secured a significant proportion of business and workforce, the loss of almost 600 jobs underlines the ongoing strain on the UK hospitality sector, particularly as cost pressures continue to be felt unevenly across pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels.
