Regent Inns hit by bad weather

Regent Inns, owner of Walkabout and Jongleurs bars has blamed the absence of a football World Cup and the poor summer weather for a 2.8 per cent drop in like-for-like sales.

Turnover rose 16.7 per cent from £127m to £148.9m in the 52 weeks ending June 30, including 41 weeks trading from the 31 Old Orleans venues purchased during the financial year.

Pre-tax-profit rose 23.5 per cent to £6.1m.

The chain said it invested £1m in preparing all its sites for the smoking ban, which also include comedy venues Jongleurs and Bar Risa. It also splashed out £10m in refurbishing the Old Orleans sites and plans to revamp a further 10 sites this year.

Bob Ivell, executive chairman of Regent Inns, warned on future consumer spending. He said: "We are naturally cautious about the outlook and environment for consumer spending, but Regent's strong brands are well placed for underlying future growth."

Once again the board did not recommend a dividend.

The shares fell 3½p to 71½p.