Stringfellow’s laps up profits

Scantily clad women are proving better business than ever for lapdance impresario Peter Stringfellow.

Gross profits at his St Martin's Lane nightclub jumped 70%, from £2.98 million to £5.06 million, in the year to 30 June 2007.

Newly published annual accounts for Stringfellow Restaurants Limited show that turnover was just
£7.32 million, up from £5.23 million in 2006. Operating profit was £1.53 million after administrative costs.

Stringfellow's Soho, a second club set up by a sister company in 2006, continued to lose money. While it may become profitable by the end of 2008 "subject to prevailing economic conditions", the directors made provision to write down the book value of a £750,000 inter-company loan to the new club.

Stringfellow also added £250,000 to an earlier
£1 million provision against a claim for legal damages over "an incident outside the club in October 2004".