Jobs threat as Wolverhampton Oceana owner in cash crisis
Thursday 27th October 2011, 11:30AM BST.
The UK’s biggest nightclub chain, owner of Wolverhampton’s Oceana venue, is set to plunge into administration, putting 3,000 jobs at risk.
Bankers for Luminar Leisure have pulled the plug on further lending, and the group said it had been left with no option but to call in administrators.
Clubs including Oceana, which employs around 100 people in Wolverhampton, are likely to remain open for a time in the hope of finding a buyer, but jobs could go at Luminar’s offices in Milton Keynes in just days.
Luminar owns 75 Liquid, Oceana and Lava & Ignite clubs in town and city centres across the UK, including the Northampton nightspot where 22-year-old student Nabila Nanfuka was crushed to death last week. But despite pulling in 11 million clubbers a year, it has been struggling in the face of the worst unemployment figures in decades among its core youth market.
It recorded losses of £198 million in the year to the end of February as sales dropped by 19 per cent to £137m.
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I think if they reduced the price of there drinks and kept the door prices as they are they may do a better job at pulling in people. Who wants to pay £5/10 to get into a nightclub then have to pay almost £4 a drink when the club round the corner sells the drinks for £2 and is free entry.
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Therein lies its issues….core youth market….many teens these days arent interested in nightclubbing.
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This does not surprise me one bit,the prices for the drinks in there are very expsenive to other clubs and pubs in wolverhampton.Lower the prices of the drinks and free entry for a start.
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Its rubbish anyway
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If they were a bit more select with the people they let in there, more people would be interested in going. I wouldn’t mind paying a bit more to get in a decent place. If you knew you were going to have a good time when you were in there. I stopped going a few years ago because it is full of teenagers not able to handle their drink and making states of themselves.
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What a surprise (not)!
Maybe it can be converted back into a multiplex cinema.
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Not surprised really. Wolverhampton used to be a top night out in the mid to late 90′s and I think many nightclubs tried to cash in on this by charging ridiculous prices on the door and around £4 per drink. You can pay the same prices for a better night out in Birmingham which is where most people go now.
We’ve got rid of the late night parking charges, but is that a little too late?
Also, can someone please open a decent nightclub now in Wolves similar to the Jamhouse is Bham? It might just attract the type of people we need spending their time and money in Wolves.
Let’s make Wolves a decent nightspot again!
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If Luminar (who owns the Oceana) is making losses of £198 million they are not going to reduce the price of the drinks or door entry.
If you have been out in town over the last 6 – 12 months, especially on a friday night you will notice the crowds are just not there anymore. More and more people are staying at home and buying cheap alcohol from the supermarkets.
A night out these days is becoming more of a luxury. I used to go out every Friday & Saturday but may only pop out now once a month maybe.
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Far too expensive just to get in and then followed up with expensive drinks when there is little entertainment for you money.
If a big name dj comes to town the prices go up even more!
With people watching how much they spend they are less likely to go somewhere as expensive as Oceana!
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I really like the place, great atmosphere and rooms, but have not been there now in over 3 years as it is just way too over-priced. Shame
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Lower drink prices – yes fully support that given the current climate it makes sense.
Return to the old door policy. Lets have the age range returned to Fridays 18+ and Saturdays 21+ along with a stricter entrance policy (clothing). Charge no more than £5 at the door. Keep the trouble makers away (that will partly dealt with by door policy on its own) and make it a safe place to party.
Get some reasonable DJs in every other month a named DJ (doesn’t have to be massive just a crowd puller) and it may work!!
Wolverhampton has’t got anywhere decent to go clubbing so if they get it right the market is there!!!
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Lower prices?? Free admission?? If they did that and got a few more in it wouldnt help, it would, they already do plenty of drinks promo’s reducing prices would reduce profits/increase losses, problem is not enough people are going out, all pubs and clubs are struggling to turn a profit, even the ones you think are doing really well probaly are not, they are probably just breaking even due to the cost of running the business and wholesale drink prices, number one villain is the supermarkets, they sell alcohol at a loss in many cases to entice customers in and while your there you will probably get your food shopping done. Sooner government put a stop to that the sooner pubs might fill up and prevent them dying off completely.
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Oceana Wolverhampton has been going down hill slowly for years.. with over priced entry, over priced drinks, poor DJ’s and biased bouncers that only let who they want in the club has made people realise that they can have a better night in Indie bar, Yates’s and Walkabout. These bars are now constantly filled every weekend with people who used to go Oceana and also offer people a better night out. Not even surprised they are in the situation they are now in.
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Overcrowded, overpriced, poor quality beer, slow staff, house DJ’s playing predicable songs, expensive entry fee, Bouncers refusing entry for people without collars on their T-shirts WTF, over 21 age policy. The list goes on and on and every one of them makes me not want to go there.
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We don’t need it.
The jobs, yes. But the club itself is awful.
We need night time entertainment that doesn’t revolve around getting kids plastered for some easy money.
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I think the prices are fair and its a great mosphere – yum all cheap skates ay ya!
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I used to work at an Oceana club, lucky I got out when I did. The decline of business has been going for over 2 years now. The recent launch of the Jongleurs comedy clubs has come to late, they’re trying to play catch up and reclaim the market. It hasn’t helped that the youth unemployment has risen and since their target market is students, who are facing the prospects of increased tuition fees, who wants to spend £3-£4 on a drink!?. Plus they were an awful company to work for, the staff turnover is just through the roof!
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I don’t understand why anyone would want a night out in a club or even a bar these days. Who wants to spend their precious down time watching folk puking all over the place, getting into fights or falling down drunk?
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Im not surprised really the amount of money they want for a drink it’s ridiculous.
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turn it into an indoor racket ball club, so the youth can learn fitness over alcohol abuse.
you can have squash, racketball, tennis and badminton. Make it a club and make it competetive.
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Brilliant idea StuartJohn Randles
either that or an ice centre…ice skating, tobogganing, snowboarding, a ski run etc etc, even an ice hockey team.
Let’s get some spirit back into Wolverhampton (and not the alcoholic sort)
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Used to be absolutely fab when it was Atlantis many moons ago, the place was busy other week nights than Friday, and rammed at the weekend.
I’ve been there once since its been Oceana.
Myself and my friends felt totally out of place and alienated- the youngest being 25 and the oldest 40, the queuing, cost of entry and drinks was ridiculous and the behaviour of the ‘clientele’ was erm….. quite disturbing at times.
On the whole the club was like a cattle market and I certainly haven’t wasted any more hard earned dosh on the place since!!
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