Adventure Bar to open new site in Shoreditch following £1.4m loan from OakNorth

By Bridging Loan Directory 2nd July 2018

OakNorth – the bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs – has completed a debt finance deal of £1.4m to Adventure Bar, the popular cocktail bar chain with six sites across London and one in France. This is the third transaction the bank has done with the business, bringing its total lending to the group to £3m.

Adventure Bar is known for its original, memorable and unique bars where customers can eat, drink and socialise. The group currently has seven sites – Adventure Bars in Clapham Junction, Clapham High Street, and Covent Garden, The Escapologist in Seven Dials, Bar Elba and Tonight Josephine in Waterloo, and an après-ski bar in Courchevel, France. Its two newest bars – Tonight Josephine and Bar Elba – were both funded by OakNorth and despite opening less than a year ago, have already become celeb hotspots and been voted as two of the most “Instagrammable” venues in London. Tonight Josephine is inspired by the first Empress of France, Josephine de Beauharnais, the famed nineteenth-century party animal and wife of Napoleon, and was recently the venue picked by Gemma Collins of The Only Way is Essex for her Boohoo Lunch Party.

The loan from OakNorth will be used to refurbish one of Adventure Bar’s existing sites in Covent Garden and open a new site at 39A Hoxton Square, currently known as Electricity Showrooms.

Commenting on the deal, Tom Kidd, co-founder and Director of Adventure Bar, said:

“Over the last five years, Shoreditch has become one of the most popular party destinations in the capital, as well as one of its most trendy locations for food, drinks and fashion. Its proximity to the City makes it a popular choice amongst young professionals and therefore, an ideal location for our next site.

“We’re delighted to once again be working with OakNorth to fund our expansion – we appreciate all the support they’ve given us over the last three years and look forward to continuing to work with them as we grow.”

Deepesh Thakrar, Senior Debt Finance Director at OakNorth, commented:

“Adventure Bars was one of our first clients back when we launched in September 2015, so it’s been a privilege to see the group expand from its three sites then to the seven it has today. The team work brilliantly together and have developed a proposition that is proving to be extremely popular with Londoners and tourists alike. All sites are profitable, including their two new sites in Waterloo which are less than a year old – an impressive feat. We look forward to working with the team on more deals in the future and help them continue building on this success.”