Luminar profits up by 14%
UK nightclub operator Luminar has reported 14% increases in both turnover and pre-tax profit in the six months to 1 September.
Turnover rose to £190m, against £166m during the same period last year. Pre-tax profit before goodwill write-offs increased to £33.7m, from £29.5m last year.
Luminar opened eighteen new venues during the period and bought one more as a going concern.
Total like-for-like sales were up by 2.1%.
In the entertainment division, which includes the Chicago Rock Café chain, turnover rose by 29% to £61.6m and like-for-like sales were up by 2.5%.
Five new Chicago Rock Cafés opened during the six months, taking the total to 71. At the end of the same period last year, the chain had 62 outlets.
The new openings were in Tamworth, Trowbridge, Braintree, Stevenage and Southsea. Six more are expected to open during the current financial year.
Chicago Rock Cafés open all day until late and provide entertainment, dining, dance and drink, with DJs playing music from the 1950s to the 1980s.
In Luminar's Dancing Division, which aims at a younger crowd, a new concept called Oceana opened in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It includes four bars, two nightclubs and a restaurant.
Luminar said Oceana had performed exceptionally well and that the company would be looking for further suitable sites across the UK.
But it will slow down its overall opening programme to concentrate more of its financial resources on existing operations.
The company is still optimistic for 2003. "Assuming a reasonable Christmas period, the board remains confident of achieving a satisfactory performance for the year as a whole," it said.
