Halo nightclub closes its doors

WARRINGTON’S biggest nightspot – the Halo nightclub at Bridge Foot – has closed its doors.
Owners Nexum Leisure – one of the biggest nightclub groups in the country – are blaming the recession.
But the club has never recaptured the appeal it had as “Mr Smith’s” – the club founded by the late John Smith, who transformed the former ABC “Ritz” cinema and created what became one of the most famous nightspots in the North West..
It is little more than two years since Nexum re-opened it as “Synergy” – only to re-brand it as Halo eight months later, saying that Warrington people did not know what “Synergy” meant.
They spent some £2 million refurbishing the building – and then carried out another re-fit when it became Halo.
A third dance floor was added.
But the crowds who used to come to Warrington from all over the North West when it was Mr Smith’s never came back.
In recent months, the club only opened infrequently.
After John Smith died, local theatre enthusiasts put forward proposals to convert the former cinema into a theatre.
Council chiefs were supportive of the initiative, but after the Smith family sold to Nexum, decided instead to carry out a major refurbishment of the Parr Hall to make it more suitable for theatre or concert performances.
This work is currently being carried out.
Pictured: The club when it was Mr Smith’s