Coronavirus recovery: Rekom UK sees 'record trading'
Peter Marks, chief executive at Rekom UK, told The Morning Advertiser demand for clubbing has “never been higher” with cocktails booming and dwell time and spend up.
“Since reopening, we have noticed more pre-booking than usual as people want to make sure they can get in, but the majority of our customers are still walk ins, as it was pre-pandemic,” he said.
Clear demand
“There is a clear high demand for clubbing now that we are back open again – particularly for young people, many of whom were hit hardest by Covid-19 restrictions while at university or entering the job market despite being part of a low risk group. They are excited to enjoy a night out after all this time and regain some of what has been lost since March 2020.”
He added that the operator is seeing many new faces in its clubs as 18 and 19-year-olds missed out on their first clubbing experiences during the lockdown period and want to make up for it. Nightclubs were amongst some of the hardest hit by the lockdowns as they were unable to reopen for over a year.
“We are experiencing record trading. Our target market clearly want to get on with their lives and with more than 71% of the 16 to 25 demographic reported as having had Covid already, the vaccination programme and the low levels of personal risk you can see why,” he adds.
While the Government has relaxed the rules regarding the wearing of facemasks and isolation, Rekom UK is continuing to operate a flexible policy.
Sanitation and ventilation
“We are operating a policy where both staff and customers can wear masks if they feel more comfortable, but it is not mandatory. We also have increased frequency of cleaning schedules compared to before the pandemic and sanitisation stations throughout all our clubs,” Marks said.
“As well as this, we have air ventilation systems in all our venues which change air every five minutes on average.”
Late-night operator Deltic was taken over by nightlife group Rekom UK in December 2020 for an undisclosed sum, bringing 42 of the group's 52 bar and club sites out of administration.
Nordic-based Rekom Group operates more than 130 bars and clubs in Denmark, Finland and Norway and since 2018, has been backed by Danish private equity firm Catacap.
