The owner of Revolution Bars is preparing to enter administration, putting as many as 2,200 jobs at risk across its UK estate.
Revel Collective, which operates 62 pubs and bars under brands including Revolution Bars, Revolucion de Cuba and Peach Pubs, confirmed on Monday that it has filed to appoint administrators, with a formal appointment expected within the next 10 days.
The company said discussions with a buyer are “well advanced”, but warned that any sale would wipe out existing shareholders. Revel Collective’s shares have been suspended from trading on London’s junior AIM market.
Despite the move, the group said all venues will continue trading while the administration process unfolds.
Revel Collective, chaired by former Pizza Express boss Luke Johnson, put itself up for sale in October after what it described as a prolonged period of “external challenges”. In December, it said it had attracted a “significant number” of potential buyers and has since been linked with hospitality groups including Neos Hospitality. An announcement on a sale is expected in the coming days.
The company said it had chosen to enter administration to “protect creditors”, including its banks, while a transaction is completed.
When launching the sale process last autumn, Revel Collective blamed tough trading conditions and policy decisions announced by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in Labour’s first Budget after taking office in 2024. Measures included higher employer national insurance contributions and an increase in the national minimum wage.
The group also criticised the government’s decision to raise duties on spirits, which it said would add more than £4 million a year to its cost base. A turnaround plan that included closing 15 loss-making sites proved insufficient to stabilise the business.
The move makes Revel Collective the latest hospitality operator to succumb to mounting pressures on the high street. Data published on Monday by NIQ showed that 382 hospitality businesses closed in the final three months of 2025, more than four a day, leaving the UK with 98,914 hospitality sites by year end.
Karl Chessell, director of hospitality operators and food at NIQ, said “relentless increases in operating costs” were taking a severe toll on the sector.
Industry leaders have warned that conditions could worsen when changes to business rates come into force in April. The chancellor is expected to soften the impact of the reforms for pubs following warnings of mass closures, but is under pressure to ensure any support extends beyond pubs to the wider hospitality industry.
The Treasury has been approached for comment.
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Revolution Bars owner set for administration with 2,200 jobs at risk