Walkabouts drive up Regent profits

Pub group Regent Inns has reported a 20% hike in profits fuelled by the aggressive expansion of its Walkabout Australian-themed pubs.

Comparable pre-tax profit for the year ended 1 July was £14.9m, up from £12.4m in 1999. Turnover rose by 35% to £79.6m (1999: £58.9m).

Ten Walkabouts opened during the year, doubling the size of the estate. New locations included Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff and Sheffield. Sales grew by 152% and profits by 119%.

Regent said it was particularly pleased with the performance of Walkabouts in smaller towns such as Newquay in Cornwall. The Newquay pub opened in April and is one of four Walkabouts that has exceeded sales of £110,000 a week.

Walkabouts account for 37% of Regent's sales (£29.5m). Contracts on five sites have been exchanged since the end of the financial year, and Regent aims to have 50 Walkabouts in the UK by June 2003.

In August Regent acquired full ownership of eight Jongleurs comedy clubs for £7m. It aims to have 20 Jongleurs nationwide by June 2003. Regent also owns a 70-strong estate of individual pubs.

Overall, like-for-like sales were up by 1.9%, and, since the end of the financial year, Regent's like-for-like sales have risen by 3%.