Senior warns Ultimate of uncertainty

Former Ultimate boss Bob Senior has issued a veiled warning about the prospects of the company he left last August.

Senior was ousted after chairman Alan Rankin and his two brothers sold their stake in the nightclub business.

New shareholders, led by activist investor Dawnay Day, installed former Yates's chief executive Mark Jones as the company's executive chairman.

Now Senior, in a coded reference to Ultimate's position, has claimed: "High value capital assets quickly become worthless if you have the wrong management pursuing the wrong strategy in uncertain times as alternative uses are few".

Senior's new company, Utopian Leisure, runs two

bars in Newcastle - Sam Jacks, a 1,000-plus capacity cabaret bar in the city's Gate complex and the 850-capacity 55 Degrees North bar.

Of his final few months at Ultimate, Senior said: "I had put out a statement seven days into the new financial year that I felt trading and licensing uncertainties, coupled with an explosion of licences granted and attacks by media and Government on binge drinking, meant we were heading potentially into the perfect storm on the high street.

"My advice was to batten down the hatches, keep spending to a minimum, continue to control overheads very tightly and wait until the situation became clear - not the policy a group of major shareholders agreed with."

Senior has a £100m debt facility - but has only spent £2.5m so far. "I will only spend money as if it is my own rather than join in on the spend, spend, spend policy adopted by other operators," he added.