Luminar warning as snow dampens club party mood

NIGHTCLUB operator Luminar issued a profits warning yesterday after bad weather dampened the party mood over Christmas.

The firm, which owns the Oceana and Liquid clubs, said it now expects its pre-tax profits to be below market expectations after the wintry weather kept customers away.

Meanwhile, it emerged the company had agreed to run a "cross-promotional" trial with music and book retailer HMV, which is due to begin in the next couple of months.

The pilot scheme would involve Luminar nightclubs and local HMV stores combining to attract each other's customers.

A spokesman from Luminar said the pilot was a "collaboration" and would initially involve four locations.

He said the clubs could be used as live venues under the plan, with HMV developing its relationship with record labels to attract artists.

Luminar, which is the UK's biggest nightclub operator, has previously warned of the heavy toll from the recession, particularly high unemployment among its mainly young customer base.

The firm said that while this trend was exacerbated by the poor weather, it was "encouraged" by improved sales on Christmas Eve and Hogmanay and by average sales per customer being 1.5 per cent higher than in December the previous year.

Luminar, which operates 88 sites, said it is managing cash resources and has cut investment by about 5 million during the reporting year.