Leisure Report articles from July 2005

Leisure Report archives from July 2005

PartyGaming shows its hand at last.
July 1, 2005... Following months of speculation, PartyGaming, the Gibraltar-based online poker group, finally announced its plans to float on the London stock market, on 27 June, although concerns over legal issues, especially in the US market, continue to...

HAFOS points to workplace as key for fitness.(Health and Fitness Omnibus Survey)
July 1, 2005... The second annual HAFOS (Health and Fitness Omnibus Survey) SIBEC report, which asks both gym users and non-users about their perceptions of the UK fitness sector, and their attitudes towards health and fitness, drew some surprising...

Pay for performance--the preserve of the boardroom?(Inside track)
July 1, 2005... With the summer comes one of the perennial problems of operating a leisure business--that of seasonal staff. There's an ongoing and annual problem in that your client-facing staff are often not permanent representatives of your company. They...

Leisure & Gaming buys into the VIP room with 23m [pounds sterling] purchase.(News)
July 1, 2005... Leisure & Gaming, the AIM-listed cash shell with designs on the UK internet gambling sector, announced it had conditionally agreed to acquire the VIP Group, an online sports betting and gaming operator. The acquisition marks the first step...

London proud to be bottom of Olympic hotel rates table.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... London's hotels have set the lowest room rates out of all the main candidate cities for the 2012 Olympics Games. As part of each city's bid for the Games, they had to commit to a price for the 1,800 rooms required by the IOC committee and...

Sovereign Capital banks on leisure with 275m [pounds sterling] new fund.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Sovereign Capital, the independent UK private equity investor that includes a number of companies in the leisure business in its portfolio, has successfully raised 275m [pounds sterling] for its second fund, Sovereign Capital Limited...

Tough times for Georgica but second-half looks stronger.(News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Georgica, owner of Megabowl and Riley's, said trading continued to be tough but revealed an improved performance and confidence for the rest of the year, as it announced unaudited results for the 13 weeks to 27 March. Profits after tax for...

Sale rumours continue to haunt LivingWell.(Health & fitness news)
July 1, 2005... LivingWell, the fitness arm of the Hilton Group, launched a new brand promise, but failed to shake off rumours that its parent company was sounding out potential buyers for the division. Hilton dismissed a report in The Times that it was...

LC adds brand man.(Health & fitness news)(Leisure Connection)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Leisure Connection announced the appointment of Mark Owen as head of brand development. He will oversee the fitness and leisure brands, as well as the programming and catering side of the organisation. Owen, who has worked in similar...

FIA launches 'Active at Work' pilot workforce programme.(Health & fitness news)
July 1, 2005... The Fitness Industry Association launched the pilot programme of its 'Active at Work, Healthy for Life' programme, aimed at encouraging the country's workforce to get more active more often. The 'Active at Work' programme pairs up health...

Champneys, the UK-based spa operator, has completed the initial stage of the 14m [pounds sterling] redevelopment of its Tring site.(Fitness shorts)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Champneys, the UK-based spa operator, has completed the initial stage of the 14m [pounds sterling] redevelopment of its Tring site. Elsewhere, a 1m [pounds sterling] women-only spa called Waterfall is to open within Leeds city centre at the...

Bannatyne Fitness opened its 36th site in Hastings last month, and is on course to reach its target of 40 clubs nationwide within the next 18 months, while Hilton has taken over the operation of Mount Wolseley Hilton Hotel, Spa and Country Club in Ireland.(Fitness shorts)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Bannatyne Fitness opened its 36th site in Hastings last month, and is on course to reach its target of 40 clubs nationwide within the next 18 months, while Hilton has taken over the operation of Mount Wolseley Hilton Hotel, Spa and Country Club...

Esporta announced it was trialling Urban Rebounding.(Fitness shorts)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Esporta announced it was trialling Urban Rebounding, a new studio-based exercise programme using a mini-trampoline, at its Chiswick Riverside site, and added that it was seeing a rise in popularity of its 'clubs within clubs' idea, which has...

Empire strikes with 'billion dollar' initial public offering on AIM.(Betting & gaming news)(Empire Online)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Shares in Tradal, the company behind Empire Online, made their debut on the Alternative Investment Market, as the group became the first internet poker group to float in London. Empire, which is chaired by Lord Steinberg, founder and...

FireOne rides poker feelgood factor to listing.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... FireOne, a supplier of payment processing solutions to the online gaming sector, launched on AIM on 2 June, having conditionally raised 24.1m [pounds sterling]. Parent company Optimal, an online transaction technology business, agreed to sell...

BETonSPORTS gambles on Asian market.(Betting & gaming news)(BETonSPORTS acquired Easybets.)
July 1, 2005... The US-facing online betting firm BETonSPORTS announced it had acquired Easybets, an internet gaming firm with a predominately Asian client base, for an initial sum of $15m (8.2m [pounds sterling]). The group will issue 2,802,298 new shares...

House! at home as Virgin launches a new interactive online bingo service for the UK.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Virgin Games announced the launch of Virgin Bingo online, which it hopes will position the brand at the forefront of the online bingo market. Virgin said that the online market had "no dominant player in the UK", despite the presence of...

Arena confident.(Betting & gaming news)(Arena Leisure reported trading was 'very good' and in line with expectations.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Arena Leisure reported trading was 'very good' and in line with expectations, as it celebrated the first year of activity for At The Races. Speaking at the group's AGM, Roger Withers, Arena's chairman, said that the group was working on a...

National Bingo Game calls in the Spin doctors.(Betting & gaming news)(National Bingo Game Association has appointed Spinnaker Direct to manage its new promotional activity.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The National Bingo Game Association has appointed Spinnaker Direct to manage its new promotional activity and implement its first "Player of the Year" competition, as part of a raft of measures designed to communicate changes to The National...

Sportingbet thrives as punters continue to flock to Paradise.(Betting & gaming news)
July 1, 2005... Sportingbet, the leading online betting and gaming group and owner of Paradise Poker, continued to enjoy its recent phenomenal run of success into the third quarter. The group, announcing its unaudited results for the third quarter...

Powerleague scores with full 14m [pounds sterling] listing.(Sport news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Powerleague Group, the market-leading operator of 5-a-side football centres in the UK, announced that it had conditionally raised the full 14m [pounds sterling] it was seeking through its admission to the Alternative Investment Market. The...

Birmingham City in black with 8.6m [pounds sterling] profit.(Sport news)
July 1, 2005... Announcing results for the six months ended 28 February 2005, Birmingham City unveiled an operating profit, before player trading and amortisation, of 8.6m [pounds sterling]--a slight increase on the comparative period in 2004 when the Blues...

Lagers to refresh Champions League teams while Wasps prefer to take cider.(Sport news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Heineken is to take over sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League from its Amstel brand fl-ore the end of next season. Heineken has agreed to sponsor the league to the end of the 2008/2009 season. Rob Marijnen, managing director of Heineken...

Leisure Report LR Index football stockwatch.(Sport news)
July 1, 2005... As the seemingly interminable season drew to a close, Preston North End saw shares plummet 17.5p, or 13.2%, following the club's last-day loss in the Championship playoff final, making it one of the biggest fallers on the stock market....

Luminar makes 27m [pounds sterling] club sale to MBO.(Cinema & entertainment news)(management buyout)
July 1, 2005... Luminar, the bar and nightclub operator, announced the sale of 49 non-core clubs in its Enterprise Division to a management buyout, in a deal worth 27.2m [pounds sterling] in cash. The proceeds from the sale of the sites--trading as Candu...

Vimac on the acquisition trail with 10m [pounds sterling] fund.(Cinema & entertainment news)(Vimac Leisure, the nightclub operator, has acquired Hush Nightclub and Absolut Vodka.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Vimac Leisure, the nightclub operator, has paid 3m [pounds sterling] for the Hush Nightclub and Absolut Vodka bar in Middlesborough. The company has a 10m [pounds sterling] acquisition fund that it plans to use to acquire three more sites...

Bowlplex sites to get facelift.(Cinema & entertainment news)(rennovation of Bowlplex, entertainment industry.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Bowlplex, the tenpin operator, announced it was refurbishing the interior of its entertainment centre in Bristol, in a scheme that will see many of its sites receiving a face-lift. The company is investing more than 200,000 [pounds sterling] in...

Regent considering position after Urbium rejection.(Cinema & entertainment news)
July 1, 2005... Regent Inns said that it regretted Urbium's rejection of a proposed 820 pence per share offer for the group. The all-paper bid would have valued the late-night bar and club operator at 85m [pounds sterling], or 108m [pounds sterling]...

Blackstone's Merlin deal is also building block for Legoland bid.(Tourism & attraction news)(The Blackstone Group completed the acquisition of Merlin Entertainments)
July 1, 2005... US private equity firm The Blackstone Group announced it had completed the acquisition of Merlin Entertainments and Merlin management, by Blackstone Capital Partners IV, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, from Hermes Private Equity for...

Butlins to open 10m [pounds sterling] resort hotel in Bognor.(Tourism & attraction news)(buildings and facilities.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The 10m [pounds sterling] Shoreline Hotel, Butlins' first resort hotel, will open this September in Bognor Regis. The 160-room Shoreline Hotel will feature accommodation ranging from basic studio apartments to deluxe suites with balconies...

Holidaybreak cuts camping offering.(Tourism & attraction news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Holidaybreak is to cut its camping holidays to focus instead on its adventure holidays and hotel breaks. The news came as the company announced pre-tax losses of 700,000 [pounds sterling], an improvement from 4.6m [pounds sterling] a year...

Industry forecasts point to strong year for UK hotels.(Tourism & attraction news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... PricewaterhouseCoopers has upgraded its forecast for the UK hotel industry this year, while new figures from PKF and Deloitte show the sector is booming. PWC is now expecting UK hotels to end the year with an average revpar of 55.95...

Playgolf teams up with local councils for 'golf-in-an-hour'.(Property & development news)
July 1, 2005... Playgolf Holdings, the UK golf operator and Leopards 2004 winner, will open its 7m [pounds sterling] golfing development in Northwick Park, Watford, in September. The development is the company's first partnership with a local council, and...

Romsey Rapids 2.3m [pounds sterling] extension.(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The 2.3m [pounds sterling] contract to build an extension to the Rapids Leisure Centre in Romsey has been awarded to Willmott Dixon, by Test Valley Borough Council. The project, dubbed Romsey Rapids, involves adding a single storey and a...

LCI wins licence for biggest casino in Leeds.(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... London Clubs International has been granted a licence to operate The Rendezvous, the largest casino in Leeds that is being developed at the Clarence Docks development. The 9m [pounds sterling] casino will be designed and built by the...

Outline permission granted for Convoys Wharf.(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Lewisham council has approved an outline planning application submitted by News International for the development of a 168m [pounds sterling] mixed-use scheme in Deptford, south-east London. The scheme will include a 29,060 sq ft health and...

First UK Cinema de Lux site set for Bristol.(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... National Amusements, the cinema operator, will launch its Cinema de Lux concept in the UK at the 500m [pounds sterling] Bristol Broadmead development. The cinema will cover 100,000 sq ft, seat 3,000 and have 13 state-of-the-art screens. ...

Oak Holdings says YES! to more leisure schemes.(Property & development news)
July 1, 2005... Oak Holdings, the AIM-listed developer and consultancy behind the 300m [pounds sterling] YES! development in south Yorkshire, has been appointed to develop two heritage based leisure schemes in Mansfield and Banbury. The two schemes, both...

Ma Potters eyes leisure venues for new sites.(Food & drink news)(chargrill restaurant)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Ma Potters, the chargrill restaurant chain, plans to spend around 6m [pounds sterling] over the next two years building its estate up to 25 restaurants, and has targeted the leisure sector for a number of new sites. John Gater, operations...

Roadside restaurants look to bypass advertising laws by adding well-known brand names to their signage.(Food & drink news)(Roadchef Costa Coffee)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Welcome Break has added the KFC name to signs at 19 of its sites to read 'Welcome Break KFC'. The deal with KFC bypasses laws banning roadside advertising and comes a month after Roadchef announced it was changing its name to Roadchef Costa...

Starbucks May sales up 7%.(Food & drink news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Starbucks reported same-store sales growth of 7% for the four weeks to the 29 May, just below analysts' predictions of 7.4%. Consolidated net revenues for the period were $496m (273m [pounds sterling]), up 23% on last year. For the 24 weeks...

Krispy Kreme facing new lawsuit.(Food & drink news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Krispy Kreme is facing another shareholder lawsuit, this time alleging that board members knew about the company's poor sales and used the information for their own gain. The suit asks for the defendants to return to Krispy time all...

Caffe Nero perks up with strong H2 prediction.(Food & drink news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Shares in Caffe Nero rose by more than 6%, after the group said that it expected profits to 'materially outperform market expectations'. The group announced strong second half trading. Revenue was forecast to be at the top end of...

McDonald's toasts success of new deli range.(Food & drink news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... McDonald's is to launch a range of Toasted Dell Sandwiches across the UK after a successful trial in the north-east of the country. The sandwiches are already available in the US and will be rolled out across the UK by the end of September....

Fears of economic downturn on the increase.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply reported that the service sector stumbled to its slowest rate of growth for five months in May. The monthly purchasing managers' index fell, and economists warned this could be the first...

BHA attacks red tape promises.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The British Hospitality Association has said that government claims that it intends to cut bureaucracy and red tape were belied by the chaos surrounding the new licensing regulations. Bob Cotton, the Association's chief executive, said that...

Manson offers protection.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... JL Manson & Partners, the Manchester based insurance broker, has created a specialist leisure team to provide insurance advice and assistance to leisure operators in high-risk sectors. Headed by Martin Mansley, who has more than 10 years'...

BIC seeks MD.(Industry news)(Bournemouth International Centre)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... The Bournemouth International Centre, which is to fully re-open in October after a 21m [pounds sterling] redevelopment, is searching for a new managing director. Current director Kevin Sheehan, who has been director of the BIC/Pavilion for...

Smoking ban 'does not affect trade', says report.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Banning smoking in pubs does not have a negative impact on trade, according to a report presented at the Smokefree Europe conference in Luxembourg. The report, which compared statistics from existing bans, also looked at data on drinking...

Government sets date for Second Appointed Day, on 24 November.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2005... Licensing minister James Purnell has announced that all licensed businesses must be in possession of new licences by 24 November or risk closure. The Second Appointed Day had been expected to fall on 7 November, the date three months after...

Falling at the first hurdle? CMS Cameron McKenna's Manish Bahl explains why the EU is concerned about the proposed Tote sale.(Analysis--Tote sale competition concerns)(Horseracing Totalisator Board)
July 1, 2005... Yes, they're off and running! The European Commission's announcement that it will be formally investigating the proposed sale of the Tote by the UK Government to the Racing consortium has made the news recently. Why is the government selling...

Support members' targets to meet your own; David Minton says operators can reap the benefits of understanding members' goals.(Opinion--Event Based Training)
July 1, 2005... Do you go to your fitness club three to four times a week? Do you know by how much you've improved your fitness after each visit? Do you have a team of experts analysing your training weekly or advising you on optimum nutrition? Do you spend as...

The Regeneration Games! With the IOC decision due this month, Simon Stephens embraces the Olympic dream.(Special Feature--Olympics 2012)
July 1, 2005... There is no doubt that holding the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in London in 2012 will bring widespread benefits to many businesses in the UK. It will involve the 3.5bn [pounds sterling] regeneration of the whole Lower Lea Valley in...

A growth strategy for talent: Nina Johnson-Bennett of The MSE Group argues the business case for Executive Development tools.(Business Sense--Executive Development)
July 1, 2005... With shareholders increasingly concerned about the level of board remuneration, and salaries for executives coming under increasing scrutiny, companies would do well to look at other methods of encouraging their top people to stay. Nina...

Leisure Report LR Index leisure stockwatch June 2005.(Sharewatch & diary dates)
July 1, 2005... After losing nearly 50m [pounds sterling] in total value last month, the sector was up 140m [pounds sterling] in June, with none of the leading companies experiencing any significant falls. It was a good month for the coffee sector with...

Diary dates.(Sharewatch & diary dates)(Calendar)
July 1, 2005... Last minute Event: Cinema Expo Date: 27-30 June Location: Amsterdam, Holland Description: 1200 professionals learn about industry trends, and see cutting edge theatre equipment, products, services and technologies ...