Stephen Thomas staid to give up as Luminar chief

Dominic Walsh & , : {}

The song is about to stop for the arch senior manager of Britains greatest nightclub operator. Stephen Thomas is currently approaching to make well known that he is stepping down from the house of Luminar, the association that he founded twenty-two years ago, and handing carry out to an outsider.

The Times understands that Mr Thomas, 57, will be transposed by Simon Douglas, the former arch senior manager of Zavvi, the song tradesman that went bust in Dec 2008 less than eighteen months after he combined it by a buyout of Virgin Megastores.

Mr Douglas afterwards took on 7 former Zavvi units from the senior manager by a new vehicle, Head Entertainment, to run as clearway stores. All but dual of those stores have right away sealed after clearing their superfluous stock.

His appointment currently as arch senior manager of Luminar might warn a little investors since his experience at Zavvi. However, sell analysts pronounced that the disaster of the sequence was precipitated by the fall of Woolworths, that was the solitary distributor of CDs and DVDs to Zavvi, rather than any error of management.

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His scheduled attainment at Luminar subsequent month comes after the launch of a vital tie-up with HMV, the song and books retailer, that will concede the dual companies to work together in 4 hearing locations to expostulate sales to each others outlets.

Analysts pronounced that Mr Douglass credentials would progress the chances of the tie-up proof successful, potentially heading to a wider-ranging agreement. Before fasten the Virgin Group in 2004, Mr Douglas was operations senior manager of HMV for 4 years.

Mr Douglas, 44, is believed to have been approached by Luminar after Avril Palmer-Baunack, arch senior manager of Autologic Holdings, incited the pursuit down. Autologic not long ago emerged as one of the winners from the Governments car scrappage intrigue after storing and distributing a little of the additional 280,000 new cars sole by the traffic last year.

The depart of Mr Thomas follows a vehement twelve months, during that the groups core customers of eighteen to 24-year-olds has been disproportionately strike by rising unemployment. Last month, after the ultimate in a array of distinction warnings, Mr Thomas said: Its been horrible the misfortune year Ive known.

Mr Thomas founded Luminar in 1988 after abandoning his pursuit as an neophyte engine automechanic and operative his approach up the late-night ladder at Rank, Grosvenor Leisure and Whitbread. He floated the commercial operation in 1996 and by a array of acquisitions, the greatest of that was Northern Leisure, he built an sovereignty of some-more than 300 nightclubs and discotheques.

In reply to the new chartering laws, that gave pubs larger leisure to contest with nightclubs, Mr Thomas sole some-more than 200 of the normal discos to concentration on about 90 large-scale entertainment-led venues underneath such brands as Oceana, Liquid and Lava Ignite.

However, shortly after the mutation the zone was forced to understanding with the smoking ban, a array of ethanol avocation increases, rising costs and the recession.

This had stirred a little investors to call in to subject the on all sides of Mr Thomas and in a new talk with The Times he certified to carrying doubts: Am I evaluating myself? Yes I am. Is it me? Do I have to do something about myself? Am I the wrong person? All those questions have to be asked.

You work really tough to get the right people of the right age around you. But the subject is, am I right away at an age where I essentially shouldnt be using a nightclub company?

Despite his depart at a low point in Luminars fortunes, industry observers pronounced that the owner would be a tough action to follow.

As Mr Thomas, who will stay on until Jul to safeguard a well-spoken handover, once said: Nobody could ever contend I wasnt the most appropriate user in this market. Everyone else has come and gone.

Luminar declined to criticism last night.

Stephen Thomas in his own words:

Youre possibly unfortunate for your initial snog or desperately seeking for your subsequent one

On because people go clubbing

If you dont embody the supermarkets it"s half an orange

On Government efforts to plunge in to binge celebration

I"m a large fan of it

On ethanol smallest pricing

I dont wish to begin a fight. As I come to the finish of my career, I"ve finished all my fighting

On his warding off to name the opposition bribing clubbers in to the clubs with eight free drinks

You only wish to punch their lights out

On rivals who are stating like-for-like sales expansion after a pre-pack administration department

The big complaint with the industry is we"ve got as well most faffy people articulate balderdash

On traffic associations

Theres less fights the only reported some-more

On the feeling that alcohol-related commotion is getting worse

When the H2O goes down, rocks come to the aspect

On Luminars capability to float out storms