Post published on February 12, 2026.

That’s the view of Stephen Thomas (pictured), chief executive of Luminar Leisure, the largest nightclub operator in the country, in an interview with The Times.rnrnThere are about 2500 nightclubs in the county, Thomas said, including workingmen’s clubs and rooms over pubs and if the regulations were properly applied, half would go out of business.rnrnHis comments follow an assessment of the industry where he predicted that half of the country’s clubs could go out of business in the next eighteen months. The industry is a highly regulated industry, he told the newspaper, and it needed to be. There are the costs of security, fitting CCTV, health and safety laws to ensure there are adequate fire exits, and protecting staff against excessive noise. rnrnHe admitted the nightclub industry has had to shoulder some of the blame for the binge-drinking culture, but also criticised supermarkets for selling lager cheaper than water and pubs with happy hours and ‘all-you-can-drink’ offers.rnrnThomas said the blame was sometimes misplaced however. If someone leaves a pub and is refused entry to a nightclub by the door supervisor or manager, leading to confrontation, the image is of confrontation by the nightclub – no-one blames the pub. rnrnHe would support a minimum price on alcohol, based on its relative strength, he said. He opposes supermarkets that sell alcohol for 25p a can, saying that the health implications are ‘mad’. rnrn‘We know that when people consume alcohol, their behaviour changes. There has to be regulation that says you can’t sell alcohol irresponsibly. This isn’t an on-licence or off-licence issue. It’s an alcohol issue’. rnrnHe accepted that a failing nightclub is likely to cut its prices to survive, and so a crackdown on cheap drinks – currently being considered through the government’s proposed mandatory code in the Crime and Justice Bill before parliament – will help better-run companies that can afford the necessary spending. ‘Only the best will survive, he said. ‘That’s got to be a good thing’. rn