Regent rallies as City confidence returns
Three months into Bob Ivell's stewardship Regent Inns is on course for recovery as profits grow.
Interim results released this morning (February 9) show turnover up by 8.9per cent to £67.2m for the half year to January 1, 2005, and a like-for-like sales increase of 2.5 per cent across the Walkabout and Jongleurs brands.
The appointment of former Scottish & Newcastle chairman Bob Ivell as executive chairman last October marked the beginning of a turnaround in City confidence for the beleaguered Regent. Ivell immediately set about slashing costs, overhauling Regent's structure and working on a refinancing deal to reduce debt burden.
"These results are at the top end of the analysts' expectations and so obviously we are pleased," said Mr Ivell. "We have put the brands back in their place, restoring shareholder confidence after looking at the structure of the business, taking £1.5m out of costs and making organisational changes."
It has been a turbulent few months at Regent, with a radical shake-up seeing senior board members leave and the threat of further redundancies looming, plus further disposals of non-profit making sites planned.
"I still believe there is plenty of room for change in the business," added Mr Ivell. "We need to get the marketing and pricing of the products absolutely right, and focus on the strengths of the brands.
"Walkabout is very focused on the consumer preoccupation with sport and has the capacity and technology to keep it ahead of the market," said Mr Ivell. "And Jongleurs, which really has little competition in the market except for the Comedy Store with two venues, has a lot of potential."
The revival of Regent's fortunes is generating much interest in the industry at large as it has become an unofficial barometer for the high street as a whole. As analyst Douglas Jack put it: "Regent and the high street are showing clear signs of stability". Mr Ivell is more positive still.
"The over investment of the late 1990s and early 2000 is working its way through and the market is now much more benign," he added. "People forget that if you are a good operator and working well then there is still a lot of potential for profits in high street locations."
