The move marks the first phase of its wider rebrand strategy following its acquisition of 20 bars from the Revel group.
NEOS acquired the sites through a pre pack administration in January, doubling the size of its estate to 40 venues and securing more than 800 jobs.
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Russell Quelch said the first six months following the deal had focused on bringing the businesses together under one operating structure, with one strategy and one set of systems.
He told The Morning Advertiser (MA): “The first half of the year was getting the business fully integrated and the second half of the year is about developing our rebrand strategy and our capex plan.”
Quelch said: “It’s almost twice the size. It’s a different business because we’ve now got a bit more of an idea on what our rebrand strategy looks like over the next 12 months. The focuses are a lot clearer for NEOS because we always had a will to grow the business, but when you’re trying to buy site by site, you never know where you’re going to end up.
“Now we’ve got a very clear plan on what the next 12 months looks like and where we’re going to be investing our capital and how we’re going to be growing the Bonnie’s and Barbara’s brands.”
NEOS now has nine Revolution sites and eight Revolución de Cuba sites remaining.
Rebrand strategy
Bristol Revolution reopened as Bonnie Rogues in June, while the former Revolution site in Southampton is set to open as Barbara’s Bier Haus on 20 August.
Quelch said: “Early performance from our first conversion in Bristol has been really strong, and ahead of expectations. This has very much reinforced our confidence in the rebrand strategy and investment programme.”
A former Revolución de Cuba site in Birmingham is also due to reopen as Bonnie Rogues in late September.
NEOS said the Birmingham site offered the scale and operational flexibility needed to deliver the full day to night Bonnie Rogues experience, making it the strongest fit within the group’s brand portfolio.
The group already operates a Barbara’s Bier Haus in Birmingham, meaning the conversion also supports NEOS’s cluster strategy in major UK cities.
Quelch said the biggest challenge after the acquisition had been merging two cultures and strategies, with NEOS historically more southern based and the Revel Collective estate more northern based.
He said the immediate focus had been meeting teams, stabilising the portfolio, talking to landlords and giving staff “hope for the future”.
Quelch said NEOS decides which brand fits each site based on location, layout and square footage.
Southampton was chosen for Barbara’s Bier Haus because of its three storey layout, late night location and roof terrace.
He said: “The venue is on three stories. It’s in a part of town that is a little bit more late night than daytime. It’s in a hub of the later evening venues and the layout was perfect for us.”
Future acquisitions will remain focused on city centre, high footfall locations in major cities.
“That’s where we know the market is a bit more robust and there’s more opportunity,” Quelch said.
Investment in conversions typically ranges from £150 to £180 per square foot, depending on the site and concept.
‘Not for the sake of it’
Quelch said NEOS did not have a fixed timeline to rebrand every former Revolution or Revolución de Cuba site.
He said some sites could remain under their current brands if they continued to trade well and deliver a return.
“We’re not going to go and rebrand them for the sake of it if there’s no return for the investment.
“The key thing for us is that we make decisions based on what’s the right thing for the business and the venues at the time and over the next 12 months.”
Asked what lessons NEOS had taken from the difficulties faced by Revolution, Quelch said operators needed to keep investing in existing sites and make sure concepts remained relevant.
He said: “You have to look after your existing estate and continue to develop the product that you’ve got and your concepts that you’ve got.
“You can’t always continually do more and more and more. You’ve got to really get your balance right of how you invest your capex and make sure that your estate stays on trend.”
Quelch said NEOS remained confident in the late night and experiential market, pointing to the performance of the past 12 months.
He said: “The evidence is there for us internally to show that the right concept in the right location at the right price does hit the mark with the consumer.”
However, he warned cost pressures were continuing to squeeze hospitality operators and could restrict investment.
He welcomed the Government’s recent business rates cut for pubs, clubs and live music venues, but said VAT remained the key ask.
Quelch said: “The VAT cut’s definitely the one, because it would take the pressure off the middle of the P&L, free up cash flow and make more cash available to continue to invest in the business and maintain the business.”
He added that a VAT cut would support businesses consumers wanted to visit, warning that without more support high streets risked becoming quieter over time.
