Deltic Group 'put up for sale'
Nightclubs have been closed since the first lockdown in March, with the Government keeping tight-lipped on a reopening date.
A statement from the company said: “The prolonged impact of Covid-19 on the UK’s late-night sector has been well publicised.
“Deltic’s board has been considering options available to it and today confirms it has launched an accelerated merger and acquisition process as part of a plan to secure the company’s future.”
Job losses
This follows Deltic slashing 402 jobs in a redundancy consultation earlier this year (September), across its estate after a prolonged period of closure with no reopening date announced yet.
This meant Deltic, which has 53 sites nationwide including brands Pryzm and Eden, would lose 10% of its 4,000 workers.
At the time, as reported by The Mail on Sunday, chief executive Peter Marks said: “There will be far more job losses if we don’t get something material in the next six weeks. As an industry, we won’t get through November.”
Michael Kill CEO of the Night-Time Industries Association outlined the impact of the second lockdown on the late-night sector.
Horrific Halloween
He said: "The announcement from the Prime Minister will leave night-time economy businesses facing a ‘financial Armageddon’. It is the most horrific of Halloweens.”
“It’s frightening to think that given the gravity of the situation, we are still being given limited communication, consultation or time to respond, or plan around these decisions.”
“The entire night-time economy consisting of thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of workers are suffering. Their plight is being made even worse by the huge void in financial support for the sector. Many of our businesses have experienced extreme financial hardship, been presented with unmanageable operational measures and have in some cases been forced into complete closure since March.
“We are extremely concerned for business owners, operators, freelancers, creatives and people working within this sector. The level of despair and financial pressure this Government has placed them under can only be described as slow torture. As a result we are seeing a substantial rise in people suffering from deteriorating mental health, with many simply unable to support themselves or their families.
“Without immediate and significant Government financial support and an exit strategy, it is not an exaggeration to say that this will be the final nail in the coffin for many night-time economy businesses. And even with support, many viable businesses will be lost. This moment will go down in history as the moment that the Government destroyed a globally significant sector through poor communication and mismanagement.”
