Leisure Report articles from February 2004

Leisure Report archives from February 2004

Committee hints at Gambling Bill changes.
February 1, 2004... The chairman of the Joint Scrutiny Committee responsible for examining the Draft Gambling Bill has given the first indications of changes likely to be made prior to parliamentary debate. In his address to the Association of British...

Champneys to sell Inglewood, Reebok club sold.(Champneys Health Resort Group)(Inglewood Health Farm)
February 1, 2004... Champneys Health Resort Group, the largest owner of destination spas in the United Kingdom, is negotiating the 6m [pounds sterling]-plus sale of its Inglewood Health Farm in Hungerford, Berkshire in order to concentrate on the development of a...

Local authority guidance on gambling must be a priority.(Inside track)
February 1, 2004... The growing pile of evidence presented to the Joint Scrutiny Committee examining the Draft Gambling Bill may not be everyone's idea of a scintillating read, but for anyone keen to see the modernisation of the current gambling laws it is, on the...

Nightclub and fitness firms plan UK casinos.(News)(Accor Casinos )
February 1, 2004... As the Draft Gambling Bill undergoes scrutiny, plans to develop new casinos in the United Kingdom are picking up a pace, with the country's biggest operator of nightclubs planning a gaming joint venture, and the largest independent health club...

Palmer saves motorsports sites for racing.(News)(Motor-SportVision)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Jonathan Palmer, the former Grand Prix driver who currently manages Formula One racing star Justin Wilson, is the new owner of Brands Hatch, and the four other UK motor racing Packs put on the market by the sports promotion arm of US group...

Upbeat William Hill tight-lipped on Stanley Leisure rumours.(News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... William Hill, the bookmaker, issued a positive trading statement, but refused to comment on rumours it was preparing to table a bid for Stanley Leisure. The group said profits for the year to 30 December 2003, due to be announced on 4...

Parker to be Whitbread CEO.(News)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Whitbread has chosen Alan Parker, currently managing director of the Whitbread Hotel Company, to be its new chief executive when David Thomas retires in June. Parker's appointment is seen by observers as an indicator of where the company,...

Fitness growing, despite record club closures.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The health and fitness industry suffered the largest number of club closures since records began, but the market is still growing, according to the latest report into the sector. The State of the Industry Report 2003, by The Leisure...

LivingWell to launch ladies' weight loss concept.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... LivingWell, the Hilton Group-owned health club operator, is piloting a high street women-only, weight loss-oriented fitness concept, which it may roll out nationwide. The first Viva for Women site is due to open on 2 February within the...

Springs unveils eighth club plans.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Springs, the northern England health club chain, has unveiled plans for the development of its eighth site. The firm will submit a planning, application shortly for a 4.5m [pounds sterling] club to be built alongside Tennis World in...

GP exercise referral association mooted.(Health & fitness news)(British Exercise Referral Association)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... A meeting due to be held at the end of last month was the first step towards the first organisation representing all interests in GP referrals for exercise. Murdo Wallace, chairman of The Wright Foundation, a trainer for GP referral...

Esporta clinches 33m [pounds sterling] sale and leaseback deal.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Esporta, the health club operator owned by Duke Street Capital, was due to complete a 33m [pounds sterling] sale and leaseback on eight of its clubs by the end of January. The deal with Standard Life is for freehold health clubs within the...

Clubhaus slashes losses by 95% as buyers express interest.(Health & fitness news)
February 1, 2004... Clubhaus, the country club operator, slashed its pre-tax losses by 95% from [pounds sterling]14.3m in 2002 to just 700,000 [pounds sterling] for the year to 30 September 2003. It also revealed that it had received "various preliminary...

JJB steps up club/store rollout.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... JJB Sports is to increase the number of health clubs it opens each year due to the success of its concept, which combines fitness facilities with sportswear superstores. Announcing details of its trading for the 23 weeks to 4 January, the...

DLL makes cost-effective entry into Holland through Cannons.(Health & fitness news)(Cannons Health & Fitness BV)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... David Lloyd Leisure entered the Dutch market with minimal expense via its purchase of Cannons Health & Fitness BV. The acquisition of the Dutch arm of Cannons Group for 31m [euro] (21.8m [euro]), gives it a strong foothold and expansion...

Les Ambassadeurs casino lifts London clubs.(Betting & gaming news)
February 1, 2004... An exceptional performance from Les Ambassadeurs casino was the lynchpin of a strong set of interim figures for London Clubs International, which turned around a pre-tax loss of 300,000 [pounds sterling] last year to post a 1.2m [pounds...

Gambling industry charitable trust appoints new chair.(Betting & gaming news)(Sir David Durie )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Sir David Durie has begun his role as new independent chairman of the Gambling Industry Charitable Trust. He took over from Penny Cobham, retiring chair, on 1 January. Sir David was previously Governor of Gibraltar and director general,...

Gaming Board appoints four new board members.(Betting & gaming news)(Department for Culture Media and Sport )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The Department for Culture Media and Sport appointed four new members to the Gaming Board, ahead of its evolution into the Gambling Commission to regulate the proposed new gambling act. Ben Gunn CBE, Gillian Milburn, Eve Salomon, and Bill...

Carlton Clubs to open two new Scottish bingo sites.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Carlton Clubs, the fourth largest operator of bingo clubs in the United Kingdom, announced plans for 6m [pounds sterling] club at Fife Leisure Park near Dunfermline. The company, which runs 14 bingo clubs in Scotland and four in the...

625m [pounds sterling] merger creates Europe's largest casino operator.(Betting & gaming news)(Accor Casinos)(Lucien Barriere)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The 900m [euro] (625m [pounds sterling]) merger of French casino operators Accor Casinos and Lucien Barriere, creating the largest single casino group in Europe, was announced as Leisure Report went to press. The Barriere-Desseigne family,...

ukbetting targets Continent after Rivals purchase.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Acquisition-happy ukbetting, the online gaming and sports content business, continued its aggressive expansion with the purchase of Rivals Digital Media for 2m [pounds sterling] and said it is now ready to target continental Europe. The...

Alliance continues UK expansion with Crown Gaming deal.(Betting & gaming news)(Bally Gaming and Systems UK)(Crown Gaming)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Alliance Gaming, the Las Vegas based gaming machine maker, announced it had acquired Crown Gaming from Crown Leisure, creating Bally Gaming and Systems UK. The group will directly offer a range of gaming and systems products to operators. ...

Too grim up north for Tote chief.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... John Heaton, the chief executive of the Tote, has resigned after more than seven years at the helm, citing a reluctance to move to Wigan. He said: "Following the announcement by the chairman of the proposed move of the Tote head office to...

UK's first racino gets go-ahead.(Betting & gaming news)(Wolverhampton City Council)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Wolverhampton City Council's planning department has given the green light to the development of the first racino in the United Kingdom, planned by Gala Casino at Arena Leisure's Wolverhampton Racecourse. Gala plans to open a casino...

Greyhound racing moves ahead with MK stadium plan.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Gaming International, the UK's second largest operator of greyhound racing stadia, announced that following the grant of outline planning permission for the redevelopment of the existing greyhound track in Milton Keynes, it will proceed with...

London launches Olympics 2012 bid.(Sport news)
February 1, 2004... London's bid to host the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics was unveiled, with the capital relying heavily on its famous landmarks to sway the International Olympic Committee in its favour. Tony Blair and a raft of British Olympians and sports...

Time running out for troubled Leeds Utd.(Sport news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Leeds United's troubles continued on and off the pitch in January, as the team slipped to the bottom of the Premiership and a takeover bid to save the club from administration failed to materialise. The club's creditors agreed to extend the...

Spurs transfers shares to AIM.(Sport news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Tottenham Hotspur announced plans to raise 15m [pounds sterling] through an open offer of shares, and moved its listing from the Official List to the Alternative Investment Market. Spurs plans to use the cash to strengthen its position in...

Man Utd sign Walt Disney star.(Sport news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Manchester United has appointed Andy Anson, a former Walt Disney and Channel 4 executive, as its new commercial director. Anson's brief will be to turn the club's 50 million supporters worldwide into customers, in addition to looking after...

Eddie Davies takes control of Bolton.(Sport news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Shareholders in Burnden Leisure, the parent company of Bolton Wanderers, voted in favour of a resolution that sees Eddie Davies, chairman of electrical components maker Strix Group, take a controlling interest in the club. Davies, a...

Murrayfield move for Hearts?(Sport news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Heart of Midlothian gave its strongest indication yet that a move across Edinburgh to Murrayfield, the Scottish Rugby Union's stadium, may be on the cards next season, but insisted it would not 'railroad shareholders into voting for the...

American Amusements kicks off 'aggressive' expansion.(Cinema and entertainment news)(American Amusements)(Strikes Bowl Multiplex )
February 1, 2004... American Amusements, the amusement machine and tenpin group, said that its purchase of three tenpin centres is the first step of a plan to grow the business rapidly and is likely to be followed by a "major acquisition". The company, whose...

OFT puts spotlight on entertainment industry terms.(Cinema and entertainment news)
February 1, 2004... The Office of Fair Trading issued strict guidelines to the entertainment industry, warning that terms deemed unfair to consumers could lead to a clampdown and court action. Contracts to provide entertainment such as tickets for concerts,...

Inventive Leisure 'could be takeover target'.(Cinema and entertainment news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Analysts in the City are suggesting that Inventive Leisure, which operates the Revolution chain of vodka bars, could be the target for a trade buyer or a management buyout after it announced that like-for-like sales for the festive season were...

West End recovery helps Urbium sales.(Cinema and entertainment news)(Urbium)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... A buoyant market in the West End of London helped Urbium, owner of the Tiger Tiger chain of late-night bars, bounce back to a 4% rise in like-for -like sales for the five weeks to 31 December compared to the same period in 2002. The result...

UK tourism benchmarking project underway.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The true value of tourism to the United Kingdom will be measured for the first time under a government-backed benchmarking scheme kicking off this year. Data collection for the Tourism Satellite Account has now begun under a pilot scheme...

Ex-Disney duo battle to oust Eisner.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Former Walt Disney Company directors Roy Disney and Stanley Gold have launched a website to rally small shareholders for a against Michael Eisner, the company's chairman and chief executive. The pair hope www.savedisney.com will help take...

VisitBritain positive for 2004.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Inbound and domestic tourism is on track for improvement in 2004, according to VisitBritain. The oranisation estimates that number of inbound tourists for 2003 will total 24.7 million, up by 1.9% on 2002. It also forecasts the figures will...

5 [pounds sterling]-a-night easy Dorm details revealed.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The founder of easy Jet, Stelios Haji-Ionnou, has revealed further details of his proposed easy Dorm super-budget hotel concept. The first site providing tiny hotel rooms from just 5 [pounds sterling] a night will open near a railway...

PWC report signals hope for hotels next year.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Hotels in the United Kingdom will see a solid recovery in 2005, after a gradual pick-up in 2004, according to PricewaterhonseCoopers. The company said that 2004 would see a modest 2.7% recovery in overall revpar on the back of improvements...

Parkdean plans further growth.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Parkdean Holidays, the operator of 14 holiday parks in the SouthWest, Scotland and Wales, reported a 161% increase in pre-tax profit to 8.98m [pounds sterling] for the year to 31 October. Turnover for the period was up 22.7% on the year to...

Leisure at heart of revised town centre planning policy.(Property & development news)
February 1, 2004... The importance of leisure to local economies has been recognised by the government in the draft Planning Policy Statement 6: Planning for Town Centres, which will replace Planning Policy Guidance 6. PPG6 was principally drawn up to sustain...

Debate hots up over 400m [pounds sterling] Croydon Gateway scheme.(Property & development news)(Croydon Council )
February 1, 2004... Croydon Council approved outline planning proposals from Arrowcroft Group, its development partner, for a 400m [pounds sterling] retail and leisure district on the Croydon Gateway site, but the development faces stiff opposition from Stanhope,...

Revised proposal for Castle Hill.(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... After 26 months of extensive consultations, St Modwen Developments submitted a revised planning application for the 100m [pounds sterling] visitor attraction scheme at Castle Hill, Dudley. The overall vision remains the same with the aim to...

Multiplex planned for Leicester centre.(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... A multiplex cinema will sit at the top level of the proposed 200m [pounds sterling] mixed-use Shires West development in Leicester, if planners give the application the green light. Hammerson and Hermes Property Asset Management jointly put...

TDR and The Restaurant Group battle for Ask.(Eating & drinking news)(The Restaurant Group)
February 1, 2004... Ask Central, the owner of the Ask and Zizzi pizza chains confirmed it had received a proposed 220p-a-share bid from TDR Capital and Capricorn Ventures International, the owners of PizzaExpress, as Leisure Report went to press. The offer trumps...

McDonald's to go WiFi in UK units.(Eating & drinking news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... McDonald's is to put WiFi into more than 500 of its restaurants in the United Kingdom, after its success with the technology in the United States. The company has signed a partnership with BT to provide the service. Peter Richards,...

Eat plans expansion outside London.(Eating & drinking news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Eat, the London-based sandwich chain, said it hopes to add 25 new outlets within two years, many of them outside the capital. The company currently has 26 sites, only one of which is outside London--in Birmingham's new Bullring retail...

Yum! Brands backs overseas expansion outside US.(Eating & drinking news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Yum! Brands, owner of the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell brands, said expansion outside the United States in countries such as China, the United Kingdom and Mexico will remain its primary earnings pet" share driver "for years to come". The...

Surrey duo plan tapas-style restaurant chain for South East.(Eating & drinking news)(Lavish Lounge )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The owners of the Lavish Lounge in Weybridge, Surrey are planning to roll out a chain of the tapas bar/restaurants in the south-east of England. The restaurant, which is owned by Carlo Platia and Julia Cesary, offers food with a strong...

16.3m [pounds sterling] Giardino buyout goes unconditional.(Eating & drinking news)(Town Centre Restaurants)
February 1, 2004... The 16.3m [pounds sterling] management buyout offer for Giardino Group has been declared unconditional. Town Centre Restaurants, the bid vehicle used by Mark Winter, Giardino's operations director, and Ronald Sutcliffe, its finance...

Spirit to sell 300 pubs.(Eating & drinking news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Spirit has briefed Lazards and Colliers CRE to sound out potential buyers for 300 of its 2,470 pubs, according to newspaper reports. It is believed the portfolio could fetch 600m [pounds sterling] in a sale-and-leaseback deal and pave the...

Pret launches first food-led site.(Eating & drinking news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The first of 200 planned Pret Cafe restaurants has been opened in Putney, south London, by Pret a Manger founder Julian Metcalfe. The Pret Cafe concept, which was first announced in November last year, is aimed at customers who might want...

Clapham House Group makes first purchase with Real Greek.(Eating & drinking news)(Clapham House Group)(The Real Greek Food Company)
February 1, 2004... Clapham House Group, the company set up by the former chief executive of PizzaExpress, David Page, to buy fledgling restaurant chains and grow them, has made its first acquisition, The Real Greek Food Company. Real Greek runs three...

Coffee Republic in good stead for future growth.(Eating & drinking news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Coffee Republic reported pre-tax losses for the six mouths to 28 September 2003 of 990,000 [pounds sterling], compared to 3.93m [pounds sterling] in the same period the previous year. Like-for-like sales from continuing coffee bars fell...

Hospitality industry slams tourist tax glans.(Industry news)(Local Government Association)
February 1, 2004... Hospitality operators, still suffering from the tourism downturn caused by foot and mouth disease, 9/11 and the weakening American dollar, have reacted with dismay to proposals to boost local authority revenue through tourist taxes. The...

Licensing guidelines attacked.(Industry news)(Westminster City Council )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Westminster City Council launched a scathing attack on the government's final version of the national guidance to the Licensing Act, claiming it is "not worth the paper it's written on". The council's cabinet member for licensing, Audrey...

Hirst gets OBE in honours list.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... Michael Hirst, chairman of the Business Tourism Partnership was one of a number of senior hospitality industry figures who picked up gongs in the New Year's Honours list. Hirst was awarded an OBE for services to the tourist industry. OBEs...

WiFi earns kudos, not cash.(Industy news)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2004... The drive to install WiFi wireless internet access at coffee houses, fast food restaurants, hotels and pubs may be growing, but big returns are not guaranteed, according to a survey by the research firm In-Stat/MDR. The company counted...

Misra Asda he good for Cannons: Arnu Misra discusses his role in Cannons Group's consolidation strategy.(Profile)
February 1, 2004... When is shopping a leisure experience and when is a leisure venue effectively a retail outlet? The answer is always, sometimes or never, depending on who you talk to. One thing that is clear is that the line between the two is becoming ever...

Private losses and public gains: the Leisure Database Company says 2003 was tough and there's more to come.(Trends--the fitness industry)
February 1, 2004... Looking back at 2003 we can now confirm what most people working in the fitness industry have been feeling, 2003 has been a tough year and it looks like there is more of the same to come in 2004. Let's take the opportunity to start the New Year...

Stanley can't rest on its laurels: Dominic Walsh from The Times, says the firm could win or lose from gambling deregulation.(Behind the headlines)
February 1, 2004... Gossip and speculation have always been a feature of the betting ring at Britain's racecourses. But that is nothing compared to the rumour mill surrounding Stanley Leisure over the past year as stock market punters have placed their bets on...

Leisure report LR index leisure stockwatch February 2004.(Sharewatch & diary dates)
February 1, 2004... 2004 has started well for most of the companies in the selection--only four saw a drop in share price from the time of the last table and the lowest of those was a dip of 8% for SpringHealth Leisure, which is still considering its future as a...

Diary dates.(Sharewatch & diary dates)(Calendar)
February 1, 2004... Februaury Event Leisure Trends Date 10 Location DTZ, One Curzon Street, London W1 Description Leisure Property Forum early evening seminar with speakers including LPF chairman Hugh Siegle and Mike Tye, the managing director of...