A Glasgow nightclub tycoon has acquired an Aberdeen bar ten months after it was put into administration.
Stefan King, the boss of G1 Group, is the new owner of Espionage on Union Street, along with another late-night spot of the same name in Edinburgh.
Both clubs had been run by its administrators at KPMG since it was hit by a downturn in July last year. Blair Nimmo, head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland and joint administrator, said the buyout saved 45 jobs across both locations.
“We held discussions with a number of interested parties and we are extremely pleased to have completed a sale of both nightclubs, safeguarding 45 jobs,” he said.
“We would like to thank all employees and suppliers for their continued co-operation throughout the process and wish the new owners every success in the months ahead,” Mr Nimmo added.
Mr King’s G1 Group owns a raft of bars, hotels, restaurants and nightclubs in the central belt including several outlets in Glasgow’s Merchant city and on Ashton Lane in Glasgow, and Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh. The multi-millionaire’s group also owns the Palm Court Hotel in Aberdeen’s west end.
Before the administrators stepped in, Espionage had been run by Edinburgh-based property and club entrepreneur Jim Tullis, through his firm Duddingston Leisure.
KPMG said that although both nightclubs hold prominent city-centre locations – the other in Edinburgh is on Victoria Street– the venues had been particularly affected by “challenging trading conditions” in the nightclub market last year.