Major pool table operator Riley Leisure is close to going under, reports the UK’s Sunday Telegraph. The company, which runs 22 locations in the UK, where customers can play pool, billiards, darts and watch live sport in a bar, has been taking financial advice.
The company has given notice of its intention to appoint administrators as it copes with the three-month lockdown through Covid-19.
Riley’s is owned by equity company Weight Partners Capital, which bought the chain in 2014 after it was placed into administration by its then owners Greybull Capital who had bought it out of insolvency in 2012.
In 2018 the chain lost £3.7m on a turnover of £10.3m. It has 242 staff. Riley also makes and sells pool, air hockey, football and snooker tables under its own name and BCE.
Giving notice of an intention to appoint an administrator leaves a company with a breathing space from creditors for 10 days to see if it can avoid administration.
CEO Craig Mayes is quoted in the newspaper: “Like all businesses in the hospitality, leisure and entertainment sectors, we have been significantly impacted by the lockdown.”
