Nightcap acquires Dirty Martini cocktail bars

Bar operator Nightcap has announced the acquisition of several assets from DC Bars Limited, including cocktail bar chain Dirty Martini and Covent Garden brasserie Tuttons.

Nightcap has paid an initial consideration £4.15 million, and will, via its subsidiary DMN Bars, pay a further consideration of £0.5m. The company raised £5m by issuing 19,583,333 subscription shares priced at 12 pence per share.

The deal means that Nightcap will now be operating 11 more sites, including the Dirty Martini locations across London, and in Cardiff, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester and Leeds, as well as Tuttons British Brasserie in Covent Garden.

Nightcap previously acquired The Cocktail Club in January 2021 (16 bars at present), Adventure Bar Group in May 2021 (13 bars at present), and Barrio Bar Group in November 2021 (seven bars at present).

Nightcap CEO Sarah Willingham commented: “We couldn’t be happier to welcome Dirty Martini to the Nightcap family. These are long-established, well-run bars that fit well with our existing portfolio and our model of running multiple brands in clusters in London and around the country.

“We will embed the Dirty Martini site operations into our existing head office infrastructure and expect to see synergies across the business as we continue to grow,” Willingham continued.

Willingham also noted that recent industrial action, which has been a continual issue for the hospitality sector, has not dented her optimism: “Whilst the rail strikes have been detrimental to our current year performance, we are extremely proud of Nightcap’s successful new openings, the growth we have achieved and the foundation we have built for the future. Without the impact of rail strikes we would have had an exceptional year, which bodes well for next year.”