Nightcap prepares to go private

Nightcap plc, the owner and operator of 46 premium bars, has revealed plans to take the company private.

The business, which owns The Cocktail Club, Adventure Bar Group, Dirty Martini and Barrio Familia, announced the proposed cancellation of its Ordinary Shares trading on AIM on Friday 28 June, stating that the "current public market valuation does not reflect the underlying potential" of the business.

Nightcap says it has received "irrevocable undertakings" from several shareholders and the directors, representing approximately 76.9% of the company's issued share capital, to vote in favour of going private.

"We have not taken this decision lightly," says Gareth Edwards, chair of Nightcap. "However, following an extensive review and deliberation to ascertain the most effective way to maximise shareholder value in the longer term and increase the potential for the long-term success of the company, the board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the company and our shareholders to cancel our AIM admission and re-register as a private limited company.

"The board believes that Nightcap's current public market valuation does not reflect the underlying potential of our business or our achievements to date and that this is unlikely to change in the short-to-medium term. Since our last institutional fundraise in May 2021, we have demonstrated several times that we can access funding from non-institutional sources at a premium to our share price at the time.

"We believe that we will be able to continue to execute on our strategy as a private company and therefore we believe that a cancellation of the company's admission on AIM is in the best interests for shareholders and for the future of our business as a whole."

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