A night on the tiles with Deltic

Award-winning late-night operator The Deltic Group was created in 2001 and led by chief executive Peter Marks. Today, it operates 50-plus venues nationwide and has 3,000 employees.

The business was recognised at the 2019 Publican Awards when it took home the Best Late Night Entertainment award.

It already has brands that include Bar & Beyond, Atik and Pryzm but, most recently, the company announced the launch of its new brand – Eden.

This new concept has been unveiled in former Tiger Tiger sites. In November 2018, Novus Leisure and Deltic exchanged contracts on the sale of Tiger Tiger sites in Newcastle, Manchester and Portsmouth for an undisclosed sum.

Second stage

At the time, Novus chief executive Toby Smith said: “This is the second stage of our planned full divestment of our late-night estate following the sale of 15 sites to Stonegate in July.

“We are delighted to have agreed terms with the Deltic team, which will be a terrific owner of these iconic sites. They are acquiring three fantastic teams in great locations.”

The Deltic Group chief executive Peter Marks added: “We’re delighted with this acquisition. Located in dynamic, vibrant cities, each of these sites perfectly complements our existing portfolio, and will see us enter the Manchester and Newcastle markets for the first time.

“We look forward to welcoming the current Tiger Tiger teams to the Deltic family. Our intention is to trade
seamlessly through until the summer next year, whereby each of these sites will be rebranded to a new concept that is currently under development.

“It will reinvigorate and modernise the very essence of the original Tiger Tiger vision, a multi-roomed, cross-occasion, food, drink and dancing all-day venue.”

Day and night venues

However, Deltic has revealed since these three sites will be transformed into its Eden format, the brand aims to be an all-day dining destination with a globally inspired menu.

The ‘Garden of Eden’-styled venue will offer bottomless brunches, sharing platters and authentic sourdough pizzas.

When it comes to night time, Eden will adapt, serving botanical-themed artisan cocktails, worldly liqueurs, craft beer and wines.

Each of the three-floor sites will offer private dining rooms complete with floral-themed interiors alongside botanical-inspired artwork.

Eden aims to provide Newcastle with a “playground of sensory delights for the city’s revellers, with three nightclub experiences under one roof. From daytime soirees to partying in paradise, Eden will be a hedonistic escape offering sheer, unadulterated fun for all.”

Senior appointments

The concept will also be launched in Manchester’s Noma Quarter this August.

Meanwhile, the group announced a number of senior promotions and appointments in April this year.

Group finance director Alex Millington was promoted to chief financial officer, following more than two years in the role. In his new capacity he will oversee property, IT and procurement as well as finance. Millington has been with Deltic since 2013, when he first joined the group as head of finance.

Jason Thorndycraft was promoted to chief operations officer. He was previously operations director for the company, responsible for the sales and operations functions. In his new role, this remit will extend to include marketing, part of a broader strategic move to bring these departments closer together.

Finally, head of procurement Nicola Romeo was appointed as new procurement director. Over the past two years she has led the department through a period of transition while strengthening brand relationships and delivering a record year of sponsorship.

Safety move

In February, Deltic-owned nightclub Atik in Hull announced it had introduced a 100% search policy as part of its safety initiative, We Care, in a bid to help clubbers keep safe on a night out in the city.

It had airport-style security arches installed for added safety last year and has now begun a company-wide policy to search every customer that enters
the doors.

The We Care initiative was introduced in 2018 and also includes professionally trained and qualified medics who are on hand every weekend, free bottled water for guests as they leave the venue, as well as free phone charging stations in the cloakrooms, and increasing the number of door supervisors for busy periods.

Other We Care pledges included a taxi escort service for vulnerable individuals, free handbag cloakroom service and access to a landline (free of charge) for those who lose their phone.

Staff have been trained to look out for vulnerable customers, offer support and question anyone leaving the venue alone.

Improved results

In its results, which were released in July 2018, Deltic reported positive news with a record of 7.5m admissions during the year ending 24 February 2018, beating the previous year’s record of 7.2m.

Turnover reached £106m – up from £102m in the previous 12 months. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose from £13.2m in 2017, up to £14.5m.

Total sales growth over this period was 4.2% and like-for-like growth was at 4.9%, with sales totalling £106.5m – up from £102.2m in the previous period.

The future continues to look bright for Deltic, with the creation of the new brand Eden alongside continued investment plans in its existing estate.