Thomas out, Douglas in at Luminar

Stephen Thomas, the founder and chief executive of nightclub operator Luminar, is to step down from the top job at the end of this month, to be replaced by Simon Douglas, the former boss of record store chain Zavvi.

Thomas is to stay on at the group until the end of July "to ensure a smooth transaction to his successor".

Douglas, who will join Luminar on March 8, has been the boss of a number of retail businesses, including HMV, Virgin Retail and latterly Zavvi, which went bust in 2008.

The departure of Thomas signals the end of an era. A former Whitbread manager, he set up a nightclub in Kings Lynn, Norfolk, which he then expanded to become the Chicago Rock chain of nightclubs, floating the business in 1996.

The group built up an estate of around 300 venues, before the recession took hold and a number of disposals took place. The group then revised its strategy to focus on three brands and some 90 nightclubs.

Last year Luminar reported turnover down four per cent at £193.2m, with pre-tax profits down 36 per cent at £20.3m.

Alan Jackson, Luminar's chairman said: "Stephen has pioneered many of the modern operating trends now prevalent in the industry. He leaves us a great asset base and a strong, experienced and loyal team of people.

"We would like to thank him for his outstanding dedication to the company and for committing to a well-planned handover. We wish him well for the future."

Jackson said he was "delighted" to welcome Douglas to Luminar. "He has grown consumer businesses in tough markets and I have no doubt that under his leadership, as trading conditions improve, Luminar is well positioned to leverage its strengths into shareholder value," he added.