The owners of a York night club and bar have filed a ‘Notice of Intention (NoI) to appoint administrators to a number of companies in the UK group.

However, a spokesperson for REKOM UK, who own KUDA in Clifford Street, says it is too early to say how this and the company’s will be affected.

It also remains business as usual in the meantime and KUDA will remain open.

REKOM UK says the move gives it the breathing space and protection to be able to work with its lenders, landlords, and other stakeholders to come up with the best solution for the UK group going forward. 

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REKOM UK chairman, Peter Marks said: “The last 12 months have been extremely difficult for the late-night sector, particularly affecting some of the larger nightclubs. This has been the result of the combination of the cost-of-living crisis that has so badly affected the young adult/student market, together with the cost-of-doing-business crisis.

“For example, while the government’s Autumn 2023 Statement saved us £120k on our £5M rates bill, it meant that we had to find an extra £2million in wages. Not only that, the cost of goods and energy have also seen inflation-busting rises. This has led to us having to accept that the group cannot continue in its current structure.

“It is not all bad news. We still have a core of successful club and bar businesses and our Nordic brands, Heidi’s Bier Bar in Birmingham and Cardiff and Proud Mary in Cardiff and Swansea have outperformed all expectations. But we must go through this restructuring to be able to come out stronger for the future. For any venues that may not continue as part of REKOM UK, we will do our best to find new owners and save jobs.”  

The KUDA nightclub has had an unsettled time in recent years.

It was closed during the pandemic because of the lockdowns, leading to an announcement in December 2020, it was closing for good.

However, in 2021 Rekom UK a 10-year lease with York property companies, Grantside and North Star, securing the long-term future of the nightclub.

The venue, formerly known as Gallery nightclub, rebranded as KUDA in 2012 following a £750,000 refit.

During the pandemic, the nightclub was owned by a company called Deltic, which entered administration. It was later bought out by Rekom UK.