REG.L Regulatory News (REG)

3 Dec 2007 11:05

Regent Inns PLC03 December 2007 3 December 2007 REGENT INNS PLC ("Regent" or "the Group") AGM Statement At the AGM held today all resolutions put to shareholders were duly passed. Atthe meeting Bob Ivell, Executive Chairman, made the following comments: "As we reported at our preliminary results, the acquisition of Old Orleansduring the year marked an important strategic development for the Group,establishing a presence in the attractive eating out market and broadening theGroup's earnings base. The extensive refurbishment programme of the Old Orleans estate is well underwaywith 12 of the sites now completed, including major investments at Thurrock,Epping and Watford and the conversion of Quincey's Surrey Quays to Old Orleans.We are pleased with the improved performance at these refurbished sites andencouraged by Christmas bookings at Old Orleans. During the previous financial year, the Walkabout estate traded well overall,despite a challenging trading environment on the high street and the absence ofany major football or rugby world cup tournaments in the year. Post theyear-end, Walkabout traded strongly in October, underlining its position on thehigh street as the premier place to watch sport with record takings at severalWalkabout venues during the Rugby World Cup. At Walkabout, the entertainment offering focuses on both sport and music. Wehave seen a revival in interest in guitar-based live music during the year andWalkabout has proved an extremely popular venue for its JD Soundcheck 'battle ofthe bands' competition - now in its second year - along with its regularprogramme of live music events. Jongleurs continues to be one of the most highly rated venues at which to watchlive comedy in the UK. Our new 'all inclusive' format at Christmas provedhighly successful and, as a result, we have increased the number of shows onoffer for this Christmas. We are pleased with our pre-Christmas bookings forJongleurs. Our Entertainment Bars now operate in two distinct trading periods during theday which appeal to potentially different groups of customers; more relaxedday-time trading and the late-night business during which entertainment becomesa key focus. During the year, we successfully introduced a number ofinitiatives to increase the appeal to the day-time customer including new menus,more relaxed seating areas and investment in premium coffee machines and, as aresult, like-for-like food sales were up by 11.4% on the previous year. During the year, Regent received a number of highly sought after industry awardsincluding Winner of the Responsible Retail Award 2006; Winner, 2006 SmirnoffShine Award for the country's most responsible venue (Walkabout Bournemouth);and Finalist, The Publican Awards 2007, Managed Pub Company of the Year (100+outlets). These are testament to the hard work and professional integrity ofour staff who strive to implement best practice and responsible retailingconsistently across our estate. Current Trading and Outlook As we reported at our preliminary results and in the interim managementstatement issued on 2 November 2007, the late-night market has become morechallenging. During the year, increased competition following licensingderegulation and customers going out on the high street later and spending lesson liquor inevitably had an impact on sales. In November, we have also seen adisappointing decline in trading across the business with the result thatlike-for-like sales for the 21 weeks to 24 November 2007 were down by 2.8%which, we believe, is reflective of overall growing consumer caution in themarket. We were also frustrated by the failure of the England team to qualifyfor the 2008 European Football Championships in June next year. In light ofthis, the unprecedented levels of regulatory intrusion facing the industry andthe increasing evidence of a slowdown in high street consumer spending, we areno longer confident the Group is able to achieve growth in pre-exceptional PBTin the current financial year. We remain cautious in our outlook given the trading conditions in the late-nightmarket, the likely slowdown in consumer spending, the full impact of the smokingban and England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008. However, the traditionallystrong Christmas and New Year trading period is ahead of us. In addition, wewill continue to look at corporate activity opportunities where we believe thebusiness is well placed to deliver value through consolidation Board Changes At our preliminary results, we reported on a number of Board changes during theyear. Alan Jackson stepped down as Non-Executive Director and has been replacedby Jim Glover as Senior Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the RemunerationCommittee. In June 2007, Tanith Dodge was appointed a Non-Executive Director. Tanith isGroup Human Resources Director for WH Smith plc and has previously held seniorHR positions at InterContinental Hotels Group, Diageo Group and Allied Domecq.On behalf of the Board, I would like to reiterate our thanks to Alan and towelcome Tanith to the Board." The Group will enter a close period on 5 December 2007 until the announcement ofits interim results on 5 February 2008. - Ends - Enquiries: Regent Inns plc 020 8327 2540Bob Ivell, Executive ChairmanJohn Leslie, Chief Financial Officer Merlin 020 7653 6620Paul Downes / Abbie Thomas This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange