Ultimate Leisure made a six-figure loss in the first-half of the year as it sold non-core units and closed others for refurbishment, the bar and nightclub operator revealed today.

Although the purchase of The Advocate and The Potthouse in Belfast in the six months ended 31 December 2006 helped pushed turnover up 4% to £18.2m (2005: £17.5m), profit levels took a hit.

Before exceptional items and an FRS 20 accounting charge the company made a small profit of £2,000 in the period it closed 10 units for extensive refurbishment at a cost of £7.8m.

Including payments to directors recently resigned and losses on the disposal of non-core units, Ultimate recorded a pre-tax loss of £171,000 in the half year (2005: £772,000 profit).

Mark Jones, chairman of Ultimate, said: “The investment in our estate, our brands and our people has been at a heightened level in the period and this, increasingly, is putting us on a stronger competitive footing.”

Total company sales for the first five weeks of the new half-year were 7.5% up, with like-for-like sales 2.3% ahead.

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By Chris Druce

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