Sun, 25 Nov 2012 | ADMINISTRATION
A group of as-yet unnamed investors have pitched in to rescue beleaguered pool and snooker club operator Rileys Sports Bars Ltd from the brink of collapse.
Corporate financial services firm KPMG had been brought in after the snooker club operator had suffered a downturn in cash-flow and slower spending by members in the wake of the economic downturn. Rileys CEO Maurice Kelly said that the business had been hit by the smoking ban and Gambling Act changes which directly affected commercial clubs.
KPMG have engineered a deal with the investor group which will see 78 clubs*, out of a total of 103, continue to operate with the benefit of a 'significant' infusion of funds via a pre-pack administration. The remaining 25 clubs will be shut down.
A spokesperson at KPMG said that the Rileys membership base was both large and loyal, thus presenting an attractive opportunity to potential acquirers.
Rileys had previously collapsed into administration in 2009, to be saved, albeit with the loss of 200 jobs, by several directors who with others formed an acquisition vehicle called Valiant Sports.
At its peak the company had 165 clubs across the United Kingdom, but the heyday of the 80's has long since passed. General interest in snooker as a sport has been in a slow decline for at least a decade in the UK and across other European countries. The 'unfavourable' legislation has merely steepened the trend over the last few years.
*Bars that have been saved and will still trade under the Riley brand are: Aberdeen, Altrincham, Basildon, Belle Vue, Bellshill, Birmingham, Bootle, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Burton on Trent, Cannock, Cardiff, Chester, Chesterfield, Chorlton, Coatbridge, Colchester, Coventry, Crewe, Croydon, Derby (Babington Lane), Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Erdington, Exeter, Gillingham, Grays, Greenock, Guildford, Harlow, Hastings, Hull (Alfred Gelder St), Ipswich, Leicester (Q Bar), Leicester (Rileys), Leigh-on-Sea (Bowl), Leigh-on-Sea, Lincoln (Crofton Rd), Lincoln (Silver St), Liverpool (Grand Central), Liverpool (Wavertree), Luto, Maidstone, Middlesbrough, Moseley, Newport, Northampton, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Peterborough (Orton), Peterborough (Q Club), Plymouth, Prestwich, Reading, Rugby, Scunthorpe, Sheffield (Hunters Bar), Solihull, South Benfleet, South Woodham, Southampton, Southend, Staines, Stevenage, Stirling, Sunderland, Swansea, Torquay, Twickenham, Victoria, Watford, Wealdstone, Wigan, Wolverhampton, Woolwich and Worcester.
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