More woe for UK's nightlife sector

The owner of the Sports Cafe on London's Haymarket and 19 other bars and clubs around the country have been wrapped up in a pre-pack administration, in the latest sign of the downturn which is ravaging Britain's nightlife sector.

Company Time Limited collapsed into the hands of administrator RSM Tenon in December.

Its assets were then immediately bought back by Sports Cafe 2008 (Operations) Limited, a subsidiary of Yellowhammer Bars Limited which was the umbrella company behind Company Time Limited.

The bars traded throughout the pre-pack administration, and remain open, employing 547 staff.

In its 2011 accounts, Company Time Limited posted a 6 per cent decline in like-for-like sales. It posted a £1.5m loss.

Elsewhere, Luminar, Britain's biggest nightclub group, fell into administration in December after the operator of the Oceana, Liquid and Lava & Ignite brands ran up debts of £140 million and banks pulled the plug. It was later bought by a consortium of leisure industry entrepreneurs, led by former Luminar executive Peter Marks.

The chain was hit hard by record youth unemployment, which left potential clubbers hard up.