Revolution to close eight bars after cost of living strain - full list

Revolution Group, which also owns Revolucion de Cuba, Peach Pubs, and Playhouse, will be closing eight of its bars in a bid to "reduce future site losses"

Highstreet bar chain Revolution will be closing eight sites across England, the company has revealed.

Alongside the closure announcement, Revolution Bars Group warned that its younger customers are still feeling a "disproportionate" strain from rapid increases in the cost of living. The sites which are set to close were classed as "unprofitable" by the group.

The company said that Revolution sites in Beaconsfield, Derby, Reading, St Peters Liverpool and Wilmslow would close, and that it was working to try to redeploy staff from these sites. It will also close two Revolucion de Cuba sites in Sheffield and Southampton and the Playhouse in Newcastle-Under-Lyme. It has not confirmed the exact date of the closures as of writing.

After the closure Revolution will operate 22 pubs and 58 bars. The closures come despite the company reporting its best Christmas trading period since 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The bar group told shareholders today that like-for-like sales were up 9% in December however, this was not enough to prevent a 2.8% drop in like-for-like revenue across the six months leading up to December.

Chief executive Rob Pitcher said: "We have had the best festive trading period for four years with all of our brands recording positive like-for-like sales and Revolucion de Cuba being the standout performer. However, our younger customers are still feeling the disproportionate effect of the cost-of-living crisis and the national living wage will increase materially in April 2024.

"Therefore, we have taken the difficult yet ultimately beneficial step for the group to close several bars which are unprofitable. Our teams do a terrific job in making guests welcome and giving them a great experience and again we have demonstrated that when our customer base can afford to do so, they are choosing to celebrate with us, and we have delivered record levels of guest satisfaction. This should bode well for the future."

The company will report a trading update for the first six months of its financial year on January 24.

Full list of Revolution bars closing

• Revolution - Beaconsfield
• Revolution - Derby
• Revolution - Reading
• Revolution - St Peters Liverpool
• Revolution - Wilmslow
• Revolucion de Cuba - Sheffield
• Revolucion de Cuba - Southampton
• Playhouse - Newcastle-Under-Lyme