Luminar links up with the Ministry

Luminar has partnered with the dance label, which also owns brands Hed Kandi and Dance Nation, to draw customers to its clubs, as admissions have tailed off in recent months.

The Milton Keynes-based group said it had also signed up chart-topping acts such as dance producers Calvin Harris and Basshunter to cater for a demand for live music.

The marketing moves follow a hefty pre-tax, pre-exceptionals loss of 35.7m in the 26 weeks to August 28, compared with a 1.5m profit a year earlier.

Luminar's like-for-like sales dropped by 20.2 per cent in the first half as hard-pressed clubbers stayed at home. But the group said it had seen a slight pick-up in trade in the seven weeks to October 14 with like-for-like sales down 16.9 per cent. Luminar said it hoped to continue this trend through its strategic overhaul, which will also include the refurbishment of a number of its nightclubs over the second half of its financial year.

The group said its recently launched student night Fuzzy Logic had been popular.

Chief executive Simon Douglas, who joined Luminar earlier this year, said the success of the business overhaul would be affected by the economic climate.