Coalition, one of Brighton’s best-loved clubs, has been sold by pub and bar group InnBrighton to national bar operator Eclectic Clubs & Bars.
The 600-capacity club in the Kings Road Arches on the seafront has earned a reputation as one of the city’s leading music venues, playing host to some of the country’s best-known DJs and bands.
It is open five nights a week from 11pm until 3.30am and employs around 60 full- and part-time staff, all of whom will join Eclectic.
Eclectic also owns Madame Geisha in East Street which it bought in March and is now planning to redevelop into the first of a new cocktail bar and restaurant brand, Dirty Blonde, in 2014.
It operates other premium bars and clubs across the UK under a number of brands including Sakura, Fez, Po Na Na and the Polynesian-themed Lola Lo, which includes a bar in East Street, Brighton.
Eclectic chief executive Reuben Harley said: “Coalition is highly successful. It trades extremely well and we have no plans to make any changes to its operational policy.
“It’s a perfect fit with our existing venues and we are happy and proud to welcome the club and its excellent team of management and staff to the Eclectic family.”
The acquisition reinforces the company’s policy to expand at the rate of around three sites a year. “We are always on the look-out for good businesses to add to our estate,” Reuben added. “While we will, of course, continue to expand organically, we see acquisition as a major route to growth.”
InnBrighton, led by Gary Pettet and Gavin George, operates about 40 pubs and bars across Brighton and Hove including Hope, the Fishbowl, Life, the North Laine, Riki Tik and The Tube.
