Revolution is set to close its bar on Above Bar Street in Southampton, it has been announced. 

Revolucion de Cuba in the city centre will shut alongside seven other sites across England.

This is despite the site undergoing a £80,000 refurb in 2022 and the company reporting its best Christmas trading period since before the pandemic.

But chief executive of Revolution Bars Group, Rob Pitcher, blamed the move on the "disproportionate" strain from rapid increases in the cost of living. 

Other sites due to close are Revolution Bars in Beaconsfield, Derby, Reading, St Peters Liverpool and Wilmslow, Revolucion de Cuba in Sheffield and Playhouse in Newcastle-Under-Lyme. 

Mr Pitcher said: "We have had the best festive trading period for four years with all of our brands recording positive like-for-like sales and Revolucion de Cuba being the standout performer.

"However, our younger customers are still feeling the disproportionate effect of the cost-of-living crisis and the national living wage will increase materially in April 2024.

"Therefore, we have taken the difficult yet ultimately beneficial step for the group to close several bars which are unprofitable.

"Our teams do a terrific job in making guests welcome and giving them a great experience and again we have demonstrated that when our customer base can afford to do so, they are choosing to celebrate with us, and we have delivered record levels of guest satisfaction.

"This should bode well for the future."

Revolution says it is working to try to redeploy staff from the closed sites.

Following the closures it will operate 22 pubs and 58 bars.

A closing date for the Southampton bar has not been confirmed.

The company will report a trading update for the first six months of its financial year on January 24.