THE owner of the Bournemouth nightclub Cameo is trying to secure a rescue deal to avoid going into administration.

Deltic Group the UK’s largest club operator, filed notice of intention to appoint administrators – a legal measure which provides 10 working days of legal protection.

The company, which operates the Oceana and Pryzm chains and employs 1,500 people, hired advisors to secure investment in October after trading was battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

It is understood that Deltic, which has 52 venues, hopes to secure a pre-pack administration rescue deal in the coming days.

Scandinavian hospitality giant Rekom, which runs more than 100 nightclubs and bars in Norway, Demark, and Finland, is the frontrunner to save Deltic.

Private equity firm Greybull Capital, which has previously backed high-profile failures such as British Steel, is also in discussions over a deal.

Deltic has already cut around 1,000 jobs this year and repurposed parts of its clubs as bars in a bid to mitigate the impact of the virus.

Last month, its chief executive Peter Marks warned landlords that the company faced collapse unless a sale was agreed imminently.

Mr Marks, who founded the group in 2011 by purchasing the collapsed Luminar nightclub business with the support of several private investors, has been a vocal critic of government policy on nightclubs which have been unable to fully operate since March.