Revolution bar chain linked with stock market return

THE parent company of Revolution, the North West chain of vodka bars,  could be on its way back to the stock market, according to reports.

Accordign to Sky News, private equity firm Alchemy Partners, which acquired Revolution’s owner The New Inventive Bar Company under its previous name, Investive Leisure, in 2005, is close to appointing Numis Securities, an investment bank, to work on the listing.

Ashton-under-Lyne-based operates a number of other leisure concepts including Rift & Co under its Nightjar Bars division. It also has a small chain of rum bars under the brand Revolucion de Cuba with sites in Liverpool and on Peter Street, Manchester.

There are around Revolution venues across the UK, concentrated in major cities including London and Manchester, and targeted at consumers aged between 18 and 35.

Alchemy launched a £42.5m agreed takeover of Inventive in December 2005, when the company’s shares traded on London’s junior AIM market.  After interest payments the company made a post-tax loss of £3.44m in the year to 30 June last year, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

Inventive is now run by Mark McQuater, a leisure industry veteran who previously led businesses including the Barracuda Pub Group and Tom Cobleigh. Sky sources said a deal could value Inventive at somewhere in the region of £100m, although a previous attempt to sell the business is not thought to have attracted offers at that level.

Alchemy, Inventive and Numis all declined to comment.