Following speculations by many students regarding the future of nightclub ATIK’s operations, Cherwell contacted the parent company, Rekom UK, for comment. A spokesperson for the company told Cherwell “Atik Oxford is not closing.”
Rekom is a multinational Danish-owned nightlife operations company, and its British subsidiary, Rekom UK, is the owner and operator of brands ATIK, PRYZM and Cameo. The company’s 46 properties across the country make it the largest proprietor of night clubs in the UK by square footage.
The company has made headlines in the previous weeks as “administrators were called in” to many branches, including those in Nottingham, Southampton and Oxford. According to Chairman Peter Marks, the move is aimed to give ‘breathing space and protection’ while the company works on restructuring its operations.
Causes for the potential closures include a 2.1% dip in nightlife spending from last year according to a Rekom report, which also reiterated that consumers have become more price conscious due to cost-of-living concerns. The latest round of increases in the National Living Wage have also hurt the company’s bottom line, with Marks stating that they would need “an extra £2m” to cover the rise in pay.
A student who clubs at ATIK once a week told Cherwell: “When I first heard the rumours I was considering rustication because ‘work hard play hard’ is essential to my Oxford study – that was a joke. But in all seriousness I’m glad that ATIK is not closing down. My hometown’s ATIK [Dartford] recently shut down, so going to ATIK Oxford is like keeping a part of my home here.”
The ATIK spokesperson also told Cherwell: “we will respond with an official statement for you in due course.”
Before being acquired by Rekom, the current brands and operations were owned and operated by UK-company Deltic Group. The group faced financial difficulties during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and was on the brink of going into administration, when it was acquired by Rekom and rebranded as Rekom UK.
