Revolution Bars has this morning shot down a possible takeover bid by peer Nightcap, saying the move is “incapable of being delivered”.
It follows a report last month that the owner of Barrio and Blame Gloria chains expressed an interest in buying Revolution after it fell on hard times.
London-listed Revolution said on Tuesday there were “a number of challenges to the delivery” of the Nightcap Proposal, describing the deal as “a highly conditional”.
Nightcap made an offer for the business on 17 May but it was ultimately turned down.
Revolution said: “Following legal advice, the board has concluded that the Nightcap Proposal is incapable of being delivered, which was communicated to Nightcap last week.
“There were a number of challenges to the delivery of the Nightcap Proposal, which was a highly conditional proposal and which was subject to multiple equity fundraisings by Nightcap, assumptions regarding the support of the company’s and Nightcap’s respective lenders, material due diligence, as well as significant time, material cost and potential untested legal and procedural issues”.
The rejection follows what has been a challenging few months for the hospitality business which buckled under the pressure of customers spending less on nights out.
Revolution raised £12.5m in emergency funding to stay afloat earlier this year.
Up to £3m of the investment is being funded by former Pizza Express and Channel 4 chairman Luke Johnson, while another £3m is coming from the German-owned Robus Recovery Fund II and £3.5m from three existing shareholders.