A merger is under way to bring 40 city centre nightspots under the same management.

Pub group Zelgrain and club owners C-Side are forming a super-chain to run some of the best-known pubs, bars and nightclubs in Brighton and Hove.

The move puts five people in charge of a multi-million pound operation involving hundreds of employees and tens of thousands of customers.

The new company - which does not yet have a name - will control a range of venues including trendy city centre bars, quiet locals on residential streets, late-night seafront clubs and studio theatres.

Zelgrain director Gavin George said the merger will not mean a monopoly for the new company, as there are hundreds of other bars and clubs in the city.

Zelgrain has been accused in the past of killing diversity between pubs in Brighton.

But Mr George stressed each venue in the chain has its own character, unlike larger national pub chains where decor and atmosphere does not vary from bar to bar.

He said: "About six years ago that was a concern, but actually we only operate a small proportion of the licensed premises in town.

"We are a pub group, with very different pubs appealing to very different types of people across society."

But Roger Ames, manager of The Volks in Madeira Drive, Brighton, said customers and employees inevitably lost out when pub chains expanded.

He said: "One good thing about it is that it is a local company.

"But bigger chains are not good for people who work for them as they change their managers every five minutes. Places end up being just another faceless bar."

C-Side, formerly known as Webb Kirby, started in 1994 and grew to dominate seafront nightlife with flagship clubs like The Beach and The Zap and bars including the Fortune of War.

Zelgrain's portfolio of city-centre pubs includes Fishbowl in East Street, Open House in Springfield Road and Western Front in Churchill Square.

The chain is thought to employ about 300 people in Brighton and Hove.

In recent years C-Side has been in financial decline.

It recorded losses of £2,787,933 in 2005, as its total value almost halved to £3,373,596 from £6,161,529 the previous year.

The sale of seafront favourite The Zap last year signalled the decline of an empire which once controlled city pubs as diverse as The Bear in Lewes Road and its Polar venues in Queens Road and Western Road.

Parent company C-Side Holdings Ltd was £10,478,162 in the red in its most recent publicly-filed accounts in December 2005.

Zelgrain, by contrast, saw its profits rise to £570,095 in 2006 from £359,760 the previous year. The value of the company's assets rose by £450,000 to £1,792,042 over the same period.

Despite C-Side's difficulties, Zelgrain director Peter Bennett told The Argus the companies are coming together on an equal footing.

He said: "We have had very good relationship for a long, long time. No takeover has taken place.

"There is a merger with parity. There will be a new company name, which has not been decided yet.

"We have come together on a level pegging, with all existing employees working within the company."

C-Side directors Gary Petet, 46, of Bushey Heath, Hertfordshire, and Martin Swindon, 42, of Maplin Way North, Southend, will stay on in the new company with major investors Graphite Enterprise Trust and Graphite Capital Partners retaining their interest.

They will work alongside Zelgrain directors Mr George, 41, of Callender Walk, Cuckfield, Mr Bennett, 41, of Beacon Road, Ditchling, and Douglas Lyons, 74, of Roedean Crescent, Brighton.

WHAT THE NEW SUPER-CHAIN OWNS

(Former C-Side venues)
Fortune of War, Kings Road Arches, Brighton
The Beach, Kings Road Arches, Brighton
Funky Buddha Lounge, Kings Road Arches, Brighton
Gemini, Kings Road Arches, Brighton
The Arc, Kings Road Arches, Brighton
Sumo, Middle Street, Brighton
Easy, Cranbourne Street, Brighton
Polar Bar East, St George's Road, Brighton
The Gloucester, Gloucester Place, Brighton.

(Former Zelgrain venues)
Ancient Mariner, Rutland Road, Hove
Bath Arms, Meeting House Lane, Brighton
Duke of Beaufort, Queen's Park Road, Brighton
Black Lion, Black Lion Street, Brighton
Cobbler's Thumb, New England Road, Brighton
Earth and Stars, Windsor Street, Brighton
Fiddler's Elbow, Boyce's Street, Brighton
Fishbowl, East Street, Brighton
Fountain Head, North Road, Brighton
Free Butt, Phoenix Place, Brighton
Globe, Middle Street, Brighton
Grand Central, Surrey Street, Brighton
The Hampton, Upper North Street, Brighton
Hope, Queen's Road, Brighton
Juggler, Western Road, Hove
Lord Leconfield Arms, Edward Street, Brighton
Marlborough Hotel, Princes Street, Brighton
Duke of Norfolk, Western Road, Brighton
Open House, Springfield Road, Brighton
Quadrant, Queens Road, Brighton
Railway Hotel, Ditchling Rise, Brighton
Riki Tik, Bond Street, Brighton
Saint George's Inn, Sudeley Street, Brighton
Shakespeare's Head, Chatham Place, Brighton
Sidewinder, Upper St James's Street, Brighton
Three Jolly Butchers, North Road, Brighton
Victory Inn, Duke Street, Brighton
Western Front, Churchill Square, Brighton
World's End, London Road, Brighton
Zuma, Dyke Road, Brighton

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