Hayfin Capital takes Novus Leisure to market
Novus Leisure could be for sale following reports that its private equity owner has taken the bar and restaurant group to market.
Hayfin Capital Management is believed to have appointed Sapient Corporate Finance to find a buyer for the business, according to The Sunday Times.
News of a potential sale follows a period of ups and downs for Novus Leisure, which has 41 bars and nightclubs including Balls Brothers and Tiger Tiger.
After being briefly listed on the London Stock Exchange under the name Urbium, the company was taken private in 2005 in a £113m management buyout.
Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland took control of the business through a debt-for-equity swap in 2009, and three years later, private equity firms LGV Capital and Hutton Collins bought the group for £100m.
In 2015, the business was seized by HayFin, which had provided the debt for the 2012 LGV and Hutton Collins deal.
Novus Leisure reported a pre-tax loss of £12.3m for the 52 weeks ended 25 June 2017. The company acquired three Rocket restaurant sites from 3Sixty Restaurants' during the same period for an undisclosed sum.
A spokesperson for the Hayfin declined to comment. Novus Leisure, which has also been contacted by The Caterer, has yet to respond.
