The group, which also owns the London Cocktail Club brand, has bought Barrio’s five locations, which comprise four Latin American-inspired, tequila-led cocktail bars in the capital as well as ‘60s themed members’ cocktail bar Disrepute in Soho.
The purchase, for £4.9m, comes as part of Nightcap’s belief in a growing demand for Latin-inspired margarita and tequila focused bars in the UK, with the brand having ‘significant UK rollout potential’. It cites global market data compiled by CGA Strategy that reports that tequila is the third fastest growing spirit in the UK on trade behind rum and gin.
“When Nightcap was founded, one of my goals was to acquire a bar group that has the potential to maximise on the winning combination of margaritas and tacos – a personal favourite of mine,” says Nightcap CEO Sarah Willingham.
“Over the past year, Nightcap has closely observed the significant growth of the tequila market with great interest, and we believe that this acquisition has significant potential for UK-wide expansion.”
As a result of the acquisition, Nightcap says it expects its results for the 53 weeks ending 3 July 2022 will be ‘significantly ahead’ of current market expectations.
“Nightcap has been fortunate enough to have had a strong first year, and we are so pleased to be heading towards the end of 2021 with another fantastic concept in our portfolio,” adds Willingham.
“As always, we would like to thank our stakeholders for their continued support, all our amazing staff, and our wonderful customers for continuing to bring their energy to Nightcap’s bars. We look forward to providing further updates regarding our plans for Barrio Familia.”