Regent Inns outlook remains grim

Walkabout bar operator Regent Inns, which failed to find a buyer for the business earlier this year, has warned shareholders today that its like-for-like sales continued to slide and the prospects for the group remained grim.

At the group's AGM today Regent said trading had not improved since it last updated the market in October - when the first 15 weeks of the current financial year had seen turnover down 13 per cent - and warned investors the downward trend in sales had continued on into the last two months.

"We remain very cautious in respect of the group's prospects for stability and growth given the very tough trading environment in our specific markets and the wider impact of on-going economic developments," Regent said in a statement.

The group said its lending banks remained "very supportive", while its banking facilities, due to expire in September 2010, had been revised "in order to ensure they are appropriate for our current circumstances".

Total facilities currently available to Regent are £96.5m, and the group said its financial covenants have been "adjusted to take account of market conditions".

Borrowing costs, as outline in October, had increased "substantially", although it was hoped recent interest rate cuts would help soften the blow, the group added.

Regent chairman Jim Glover thanked former executive chairman Bob Ivell "for his efforts in seeking a sale of the business in a most difficult financial environment, and for his role in initiating the restructuring and cost savings plan, which included his own departure in the group's financial interests".

Ivell left the business in August this year.