{"id":2153045,"date":"2026-04-13T08:59:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T07:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/yorkshire\/?p=2153045"},"modified":"2026-04-13T08:59:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T07:59:20","slug":"a-pre-pack-is-the-magic-potion-for-fantasy-retailer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/yorkshire\/news\/2153045-a-pre-pack-is-the-magic-potion-for-fantasy-retailer","title":{"rendered":"A pre-pack is the magic potion for fantasy retailer"},"content":{"rendered":"

A pre-pack sale has saved 72 jobs at The Potions Cauldron, the York-based fantasy-themed leisure and hospitality business.<\/p>\n

The business and assets were acquired by The Potions Group, a connected company, in a deal facilitated by financial and real estate advisory group BTG.<\/p>\n

The sale includes five sites in York, Leeds, Chester, Blackpool and Seaham, which trade as The Potions Cauldron, Hole In Wand, The Potions Academy and The Potions Express.<\/p>\n

However, the Edinburgh store has closed with four employees made redundant.<\/p>\n

The company, which provided potion-making experiences, mini golf, drinks retail and wholesale alongside licensed drinks products, had been left in a distressed position after years of rising costs amid challenging trading conditions.<\/p>\n

Last October, the company said it was set to export one million drinks to the US. <\/span>The Potions Cauldron had secured a deal with Disney<\/a> to supply<\/span>\u00a0its cruise ships and commissioned the business to produce drinks in celebration of Marvel superheroes and the new Fantastic Four film.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, co-owner Phil Pinder said the business was on course to turnover \u00a38m this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Asher Miller and Stephen Katz, partners from BTG’s London office, were appointed as joint administrators on the same day the sale was completed.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Asher Miller, restructuring partner at BTG, said: “We are delighted to have been able to facilitate the prepackaged sale of this unique business to maintain continuity of service to its customers and save 72 jobs across the sites that have been acquired.”<\/p>\n

Following an accelerated marketing exercise, BTG’s restructuring team determined that a pre-packed administration sale would maximise value while saving the business and as many jobs as possible.<\/p>\n

Miller added: “Trading conditions for retailers, hospitality businesses and the leisure industry have been incredibly difficult as low spending and demand from customers is compounded by rising employment costs alongside rises in energy costs and business rates.”<\/p>\n

The sale was supported by the company’s primary secured creditor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

York\u2019s fantasy-themed hospitality business The Potions Cauldron has been saved in a pre-pack administration deal that secured 72 jobs <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":271992,"featured_media":2144930,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53262,2,47995],"coauthors":[137100],"class_list":["post-2153045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-deals","category-retail","tag-featured-story","tag-yorkshire"],"yoast_head":"\nA pre-pack is the magic potion for fantasy retailer | TheBusinessDesk.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"York\u2019s fantasy-themed hospitality business The Potions Cauldron has been saved in a pre-pack administration deal that secured 72 jobs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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