The end of Vodka Revs: Revolution bars owner announce the closure of 21 venues and axe 591 jobs after appointing administrators
The owner of Revolution bars has announced that he will close 21 venues and lay off 591 people after the parent company goes into administration.
Revel Collective owns 62 pubs in the UK, employing 2,200 people nationwide across its Revolution Bars, Revolucion de Cuba and Peach Pub chains.
Administrators said they would close 14 Revolution Bar venues, six Revolucion de Cuba venues and one pub under the Peach Pubs division ‘with immediate effect’.
It comes as executives at FTI Consulting confirmed a pair of deals that will secure the future of 41 sites and 1,582 jobs previously at risk.
The Revolution and Revolucion de Cuba brands and assets have been acquired by Neos Hospitality Group, which operates the Barbara’s Bier Haus and Bonnie Rogues brands.
Meanwhile, the remaining Peach Pubs business was acquired by the newly formed group called Coral Pub Company.
The company put itself up for sale last October after facing what it described as ‘ongoing external challenges’, blaming the Labor Party’s ‘declining’ budget for its difficulties.
Pubs are facing huge increases in business rates this April as pandemic mitigation measures end, revaluations of properties are expected to reveal rateable values and there are new changes to the way business rates are calculated.
14 Revolution pubs, affectionately known as ‘Revs’, as well as six Revolucion de Cuba sites and a pub attached to the Peach Pubs division, will close and 591 people will be made redundant.
Neos Hospitality Group will secure 41 pubs and Coral Pub Company will take over the remaining pub venues, administrators have confirmed
Revel Collective has been suspended from trading on London’s junior AIM exchange.
The company blamed “tough economic conditions” for this and criticized Rachel Reeves’s first Labor budget for 2024, which was put up for sale last autumn.
This increased employers’ National Insurance contributions and raised the minimum wage.
They also criticized the increase in duty on alcoholic drinks, which they said would cost the company an extra £4 million a year.
The company had previously tried to recover by closing 15 loss bars, but this was not enough to recover.
The firm’s bosses have previously said sales were weaker than expected as younger customers reined in their spending.
A statement from the company confirmed that stakeholders would be written off their investments and that it had entered administration to ‘protect creditors’ such as banks.
The business’s shares will remain suspended on the AIM exchange and are expected to be canceled on 27 February (one month after the administrators are appointed) unless a new Nominated Adviser is appointed. However, the company said there was “no current intention” to do so.
Despite this, the company announced in December that it had found a ‘significant number’ of buyers, including bar and club owner Neos Hospitality.
According to consumer research firm NIQ, hospitality company closures have skyrocketed by the end of 2025; 382 companies (more than four every day) closed in the last three months of the year.
By the end of the year, there were 98,914 accommodation properties left in the UK.
NIQ hospitality and food manager Karl Chessell said ‘relentless increases in operating costs’ were punishing the industry.
Industry groups have warned that the government is now expected to soften planned changes to business rates in pubs that could face mass closures.
Revolution bars are known for their diverse cocktails, flavored vodka shots, and party atmosphere that lasts until the night.
