Regent reveals key men to reverse slide
Struggling late-night bar operator Regent Inns announced two top-level appointments alongside its annual results on 26 October.
Bob Ivell and John Leslie, respectively the former chairman and finance director of Scottish & Newcastle's pub estate, join the company as executive chairman and chief financial officer.
Their appointments follow the abrupt departures of Regent Inns' chief executive Stephen Haupt and finance director Simon Rowe last month.
Current executive chairman Peter Savage will revert to a non-executive director's role while Paul Felton-Smith will remain interim finance director.
Regent Inns also revealed that its banks had agreed to temporarily waive the default on its loans and ensure that the group had sufficient funds, while they reviewed its financial position.
In what Savage described as a "challenging and difficult" year to 3 July, Regent Inns boosted turnover by 10.89% to £122.7m, from £110.8m last year. Pre-tax profits before exceptional items dropped to £12.3m from £14.4m.
The group reduced the fall in like-for-like sales at Walkabout and Bar Risa/Jongleurs to 5.4% in the second half of the year, from 7.4% in the first.
Signs of a tentative recovery emerged from a small rise of 0.9% in like-for-like sales during the first 15 weeks of the new financial year.
