Revolution Bars Group,
previously known as Inventive Leisure and The New Inventive Bar Company,
is a city centre bar chain with headquarters in
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 45,198 at the 2011 census. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, in the foothills of the Pennines, east of Manche ...
,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The bar brands trade under the names Revolution and Revolución de Cuba.
Background
It was founded by Roy Ellis and Neil Macleod, who had met in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in the 1980s.
They opened their first bar in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1991, with
nightclubs
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
and a
music venue following soon after.
In 1996 they moved away from the previously unbranded bars and clubs to start the Revolution chain, with
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
being featured as the principal product.
In 2000, the company floated on the Alternative Investment Market, by this point having 21 bars. It was bought out in 2006 by Alchemy Partners amid competition from Regent Inns and Ultimate Leisure. The deal valued the company at £42.5m.
The company was ranked 25th in the 2013 The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For list, and employs about 1,800 people.
Its turnover in the year ending June 2008 was expected to be £71m with profits of £11m.
In 2013, Phill Danks became CEO of Revolution Bars Group.
In August 2017, Revolution Bars Group rejected a merger proposal from nightclub operator Deltic Group, saying Deltic's offer was "not in the best interests of shareholders at this time". In response, Deltic Group said it wanted to appeal directly to shareholders, proposing that existing Revolution shareholders would own 65% of the new company, while Deltic would own the remaining 35%. Revolution Bars Group said it instead preferred a £101.5m takeover offer by Slug and Lettuce owner Stonegate Pub Company, Stonegate.
Brands
Revolution
Revolution is the original brand of Revolution Bars Group. The unique selling point is the focus on
vodka
Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuriti ...
.
Revolución de Cuba
Revolución de Cuba was created in 2011. The focus is on rum and Cuba.
References
{{reflist
External links
RevolutionRevolución de Cuba
Pub chains