Jon Moulton on trail of new venues for Walkabout

The Walkabout chain of bars has pulled off a financial restructuring and and set out expansion plans.

Jon Moulton’s Better Capital – which bought the Antipodean-focused chain in November in a deal worth £20m – plans to open more Walkabouts in the UK and is on the hunt for acquisitions.

The veteran venture capitalist’s firm is best known for putting its delivery business, City Link, into administration on Christmas Eve.

Better Capital bought Walkabout’s parent, Intertain, from its creditors – which included Barclays and the Royal Bank of Scotland. It had been part of the controversial pre-pack administration of Regent Inns in 2009.

Last month, Intertain was put into a company voluntary arrangement in order to “refocus the business” – a move that Better Capital said was approved by creditors earlier this month.

It claimed that the company’s 32 bars and comedy venues – which include student-loving branches of Jongleurs bars as well as 27 Walkabouts – are “expected to generate solid earnings” this year.