Luminar FY profits below market expectations
Business Financial Newswire


Youth unemployment is hitting Luminar and it warns full year profits will be below market expectations. It says the general economic conditions, and in particular youth unemployment, continued to have a significant impact on its core customers and to affect the frequency of their visits to its venues.

And it says this has been exacerbated by the severe weather conditions across the UK, which has a significant effect on footfall.

The firm said it was very encouraged by much better sales on the key festive nights of Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and by average sales per customer which were 1.5% higher in December than the previous year.

The combination of these factors resulted in same outlet sales in December being 13.8% below last year, broadly similar to the trend established in September, since when sales have been 13.4% below last year.

Same outlet sales across the first 44 weeks of our financial year to 31 December have been 8.1% below last year.

It adds: "In view of the prolonged weather impact and the continued sales trend the group now expects profit before tax for the year to 25 February 2010 to be below market expectations."

Full year results for the year to 25 February are expected to be announced on 13 May 2010.

From 8 to 2p... atrocious.

Very sneaky .

Luminar to go into adminstration




Jonathan Sibun, 19:02, Wednesday 26 October 2011

Luminar, Britain's biggest nightclub operator, has become the latest victim of the downturn after Lloyds Banking Group (LSE: LLOY.L - news) and Royal Bank of Scotland (LSE: RBS.L - news) pulled the plug on the company's finances.

The state-backed lenders, together with Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) , opted not to renew Luminar's banking facilities on Wednesday, forcing the company's directors to initiate steps to put it into administration.

The decision has put 3,000 full and part-time jobs at risk at Luminar's 75 clubs, a further blow to Britain's high streets.

The company has been hit by the introduction of the licensing act in 2005, which allowed pubs to compete for late-night drinkers, eliminating Luminar's unique selling point. The smoking ban further rocked the business, while the recent spike in youth unemployment was the final straw, sources close to the company said.

Mark Brumby, an analyst at Langton Capital, said: "Luminar has arguably had the smell of death about it for some time."

It remains unclear whether the administrator, which has yet to be appointed, will continue to run the clubs and retain staff. Luminar's directors had been trying to offload assets in recent weeks, with private equity firms R Capital and Sun Capital among those believed to have been interested, and it is possible that either group could now look to take control of some of the clubs.

Luminar's shares were suspended at 0.7p, having traded as high as 850p a decade ago.

They were 850p 4 years ago.