Rileys Sport Bars, the 43-strong snooker-and-pool-hall business, has been bought out of administration by private equity firm Weight Partners Capital LLP (WPC).
A spokesman for WPC, which specialises in investing in the consumer and healthcare sectors, said: “We are very pleased to have acquired the 43-site Rileys Sports Bar business out of administration. All sites will continue to trade going forward, safeguarding 366 jobs.
“We plan to invest in the business to improve the amenity levels and customer proposition within the portfolio. Operational management and back office support services are being provided by LT Management Services, which currently operates approximately 1,000 pubs, bars and restaurants nationwide.
“LT has traded the 43 Rileys sites profitably whilst in administration and the business is now well positioned for the future. LT will draw on its industry expertise and purchasing scale to further improve the Rileys offer for customers.”
Rob Harding and Ian Wormleighton, restructuring partners at Deloitte, the business advisory firm, were appointed Joint Administrators to Rileys Sports Bars Limited on 15 September 2014. On appointment, Rileys operated 59 sites, of which 15 have since closed, while the remaining 44 sites were traded by the Joint Administrators. One site, in Bristol, has been sold in a separate deal as a going concern preserving seven jobs.
Harding said: “We are delighted to have completed the sale to WPC. The sale of the restructured portfolio preserves 366 jobs, saves a historic brand in the leisure industry and provides a solid financial footing on which the business can be taken forward.
“We wish the WPC and Rileys teams every success and I would like to thank the staff, suppliers, loyal customers, landlords and LT Management Services who have been operating the sites for us, for their support in making this deal possible.”
