Revolution Bars Group, previously known as Inventive Leisure and The New Inventive Bar Company, is a city centre bar chain with headquarters in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The bar brands trade under the names Revolution and Revolución de Cuba.

Background

It was founded by Roy Ellis and Neil Macleod, who had met in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in the 1980s. They opened their first bar in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1991, with

nightclubs A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and ...

and a

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

following soon after. In 1996 they moved away from the previously unbranded bars and clubs to start the Revolution chain, with

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

being featured as the principal product. In 2000, the company floated on the

Alternative Investment Market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market, Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in opera ...

, by this point having 21 bars. It was bought out in 2006 by

Alchemy Partners Alchemy Partners is a British private equity firm, which specialises in investing in distressed and undervalued or underperforming businesses and other special situations through debt and equity throughout Europe. Alchemy was founded in 1997 b ...

amid competition from Regent Inns and Ultimate Leisure. The deal valued the company at £42.5m. The company was ranked 25th in the 2013 The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list, and employs about 1,800 people. Its turnover in the year ending June 2008 was expected to be £71m with profits of £11m. In 2013, Phill Danks became CEO of Revolution Bars Group. In August 2017, Revolution Bars Group rejected a merger proposal from nightclub operator

Deltic Group Rekom UK (formerly Deltic Group & The Luminar Group Ltd.) was the UK branch of Danish multi-national nightclub operator Rekom. It operated 35 nightclubs and 12 late-night bars across the United Kingdom, including the PRYZM & ATIK brands. On 17 ...

, saying Deltic's offer was "not in the best interests of shareholders at this time". In response, Deltic Group said it wanted to appeal directly to shareholders, proposing that existing Revolution shareholders would own 65% of the new company, while Deltic would own the remaining 35%. Revolution Bars Group said it instead preferred a £101.5m takeover offer by Slug and Lettuce owner Stonegate. On March 25, 2024, Revolution Bars announced plans for emergency fundraising and the closure of a quarter of its venues, which threatens hundreds of jobs, as it seeks a sale amid financial challenges.

Brands

Revolution

Revolution is the original brand of Revolution Bars Group. The unique selling point is the focus on

Revolución de Cuba

Revolución de Cuba was created in 2011. The focus is on

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

References

{{reflist

External links

RevolutionRevolución de Cuba
Pub chains