The UK’s largest nightclub operator, Deltic Group, is scrambling to secure a rescue deal as it teeters on the brink of administration.

The company, which runs 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.

Deltic, which operates 52 bars and nightclub, has now filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, in a legal measure with provides legal protection for ten working days.

It is understood that the company 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, are 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.