Nightlight Leisure - Administration

Nightlight Leisure, the parent company of Simmons Bars, has been sold to its founder Nick Campbell and shareholder Lonsdale Capital Partners for just over £6 million via a pre-pack deal.

The group, which operates 15 Simmons sites in addition to certain other venues, has experienced a downturn in trading due to a challenging consumer environment in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company reportedly owed £5.7 million to OakNorth, which advanced a loan to the group in 2020 in the wake of the company’s struggles during the pandemic.

Shortly after the appointment of Benjamin Wiles and Philip Dakin of Kroll as joint administrators, the pre-pack sale (which includes 16 bars, 12 of which are Simmons sites) was completed. 256 jobs have been saved, while 30 employees have been made redundant.