Leisure Report articles from June 2005

Leisure Report archives from June 2005

Budget clubs plan for David Lloyd.
June 1, 2005... David Lloyd Leisure, the fitness arm of UK leisure conglomerate Whitbread, is planning to reposition parts of its estate to a more budget offering, in an effort to drive performance at its weaker venues. The group will launch a stripped...

Hilton pulled down by gaming divisions.(Amusement with Prizes)(Fixed Odds Betting Terminals)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Hilton Group announced a 4% drop in pre-tax, pre-exceptional group profit for the first four months of the year, reflecting tough trading comparatives in betting and gaining from last year. In a trading statement the company said: "For betting...

Regulation, regulation ... regulation.(Inside track)
June 1, 2005... It's a far cry from the election soundbite that we all heard a few years back, but it is a more realistic summation of recent government policy. Across the leisure sector we've seen more and more red tape introduced, from the Gambling Act to...

Leopards 2005--The Leisure Report Innovation Awards.(News--Leopards 2005)
June 1, 2005... Following the success of last year's inaugural event, we are pleased to announce the launch of Leisure Report's industry innovation awards--Leopards 2005. "Innovation is a key component of any leisure operation's ability to survive and...

New UK fitness franchise is launched.(Health & fitness news)(Attiva)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A new fitness franchise called Attiva has been launched at a site in Malvern. This will be the only wholly independent club of the eight private sector fitness centres in the UK to be accepted on to the "Inclusive Fitness Initiative Pilot...

Esporta shrugs off downturn with well-toned first quarter.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Esporta reported a 5% increase in like for like revenue for the first quarter of 2005, and said it was bucking the downward trend elsewhere in the market. Net member gain for the same period was 9,500 bringing the total number of people...

De Vere profits flat in first half as leisure market slows.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... De Vere reported flat half-year underlying pre-tax profit of 19.3m [pounds sterling], adding that the leisure market was starting to weaken. Turnover at the company was down 0.2% to 154.2m [pounds sterling] for the 26 weeks to 27 March....

MidOcean gets LA.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... MidOcean Partners made a recommended bid of 220p a share for LA Fitness. The private equity firm's offer valued the health club at about 90.3m [pounds sterling], or 141m [pounds sterling] including debt. MidOcean was set up by Fred Turok, chief...

Talarius makes high-street buy.(Betting & gaming news)(RAL)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... RAL, the organisation behind the Quicksilver high-street chain of gaming centres, has been conditionally sold to the recently AIM-listed Talarius for 39m [pounds sterling], by PPM Ventures and management investors. RAL is the UK's largest...

Northern Racing given food for thought by catering review.(Betting & gaming news)
June 1, 2005... Northern Racing, the UK racecourse operator, said that trading in the early part of the year was in line with expectations, and added that it was encouraged by an increase in catering revenues, since conducting a review of its offering. ...

New Kennedy dynasty begins at Paddy Power.(Betting & gaming news)(Appointed Patrick Kennedy as chief executive)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Paddy Power, the Irish bookmaker, announced the appointment of Patrick Kennedy to succeed John O'Reilly as chief executive when he retires from the position in December 2005. Kennedy is currently chief financial officer and an executive...

Sportech takes direct route to boost online offer.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Sportech, the owner of Littlewoods Gaming, announced the launch of www.hetdirectcasino.com and www.betdirectpoker.com, to add to its existing interactive betting product portfolio, which includes the Littlewoodscasino and Littlewoodspoker sites...

Gaming Corp eyes Asian market with Got2Bet deal.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Gaming Corporation, the owner of the UK's leading gaming site www.casino.co.uk, announced it had acquired Got2bet.com, an international gaming portal, for an initial $270,000 (126,000 [pounds sterling]). The deal, coupled with the firm's...

William Hill completes betting shop purchase.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... William Hill has bought Stanley Leisure's 624 betting shops for 504m [pounds sterling], making it the UK's biggest bookmaker with more than 2,200 outlets. The company has also cancelled a planned 453m [pounds sterling] return of capital to...

Sportingbet on target.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Ahead of its results for the three months to 30 April, due to be reported in early June, Sportingbet, the leading online betting and gaming group, said it had "enjoyed a good third quarter and operating profit before interest and goodwill...

Rank buoyed by improvement in Hard Rock casino numbers.(Betting & gaming news)
June 1, 2005... Rank said that current trading was in line with expectations, backed by strong results at its Hard Rock cafes and Deluxe film division. In an announcement to the stock exchange following the company's AGM, Rank said that Mecca Bingo's...

Gamingking gets Rank man and Kelly's Eye lottery business.(Betting & gaming news)(Appointments)
June 1, 2005... Gamingking, the AIM-listed lottery ticket firm, announced the appointment of Douglas Yates as its new non-executive chairman with immediate effect. Yates is replacing John Sanderson, who assumed the role following the resignation of Leslie...

Hilton wins gaming licence for hotel.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The Hilton Group has gained a gaming licence, more than 25 years after subsidiary Ladbrokes was forced out of the casino business over a betting scandal. The application for a planned casino at the Paddington Hilton Hotel in London was...

Betinternet strengthens its hand with two senior appointments.(Betting & gaming news)(Appointments)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The global online gaming group betinternet.com, announced the appointment of two new members to its senior management team. Simon Nicholls was appointed as chief operating officer of European Wagering Services, the pool-betting subsidiary...

Ultimate warns on profits but denies shareholder unrest.(Cinema & entertainment news)
June 1, 2005... Ultimate Leisure, the AIM-quoted late night bar and nightclub operator, warned that it will not meet expectations for the year to 30 June, but denied reports of a shareholder mutiny. A report in The Sunday Times claimed that the company's...

Man from Auntie takes front row seat at Odeon and UCI cinemas.(Cinema & entertainment news)(Appointed Rupert Gavin as Chief Executive)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Former BBC Worldwide chief executive Rupert Gavin is to be tim new head of Odeon and UCI Cinemas. Gavin, who left the BBC ten 2months ago, will take tip his chief executive role with Odeon and UCI, Europe's largest cinema chain, in...

Blackstone to sell six UGC sites.(Cinema & entertainment news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The Blackstone Group has been cleared to take over UGC Cinemas, provided that it sells six of its cinemas. The Office of Fair Trading said that it would not refer the deal to the Competition Commission, provided the private equity firm...

Vue buys Ster Century for 50m [pounds sterling].(Cinema & entertainment news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Vue Entertainment, the UK cinema developer, acquired the seven-strong Ster Century UKand Ireland cinema chain in a deal believed to be worth around 50m [pounds sterling], backed by private equity groups Boston Ventures, Clarity Partners and L&G...

Georgica strikes on property development plan.(Cinema & entertainment news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Georgica, owner of the Riley's cue sports and Tenpin bowling brands, said it had identified a number of properties for development within its portfolio. In a statement to the stock exchange following the company's annual general meeting,...

Celtic and Millwall make substitutions.(Sport news)(Appointments)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... There were boardroom shuffles at Celtic and Millwall, with the former announcing that Brian Wilson would join the board as a non-executive director on 1 June, while Millwall confirmed that as previously announced, Jeffrey Burnige has formally...

Leisure Report LR Index football stockwatch.(Sport news)
June 1, 2005... Unsurprisingly, Southampton Leisure led the losers last month, with shares plunging more than 11% after the club's 27-year stay in the top flight came to a heartbreaking end. The drop in divisions is reckoned to cost some 20m [pounds sterling]...

Powerleaque group to float on AIM market.(Sport news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Powerleague, the operator of five-a-side football centres, was expected to float on the Alternative Investment Market on 25 May, with an expected market value of around 40m [pounds sterling]. The floatation is expected to raise 12.5m...

Hearts sees lower losses during turbulent period.(Sport news)(Heart of Midlothian )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Despite seeing revenues lifted by a UEFA Cup run, Heart of Midlothian reported pre-tax losses of 221,000 [pounds sterling] for the first six months to 31st January 2005, compared with a pre tax loss of 557,000 [pounds sterling] for the same...

WTTC says tourism industry will see 5% growth in 2006.(Tourism & attractions news)(World Travel and Tourism Council)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Travel and tourism will grow by 5.1% this year to be worth 189.4bn [pounds sterling], according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. In Europe, the industry is expected to generate 1,165bn [pounds sterling] this year, growing to 2,095bn...

PE firms build bids for 400m [euro] Legoland parks.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Palamon Capital Partners and Blackstone are among the familiar private equity groups competing to buy Legoland's theme parks from their Danish owner, while other likely bidders include Advent International, Spectrum Equity, Apollo Management...

Record audiences give boost to London's theatres.(Tourism & attractions news)(Society of London Theatre)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... London's Theatreland is on course for its biggest year since records began because of booming numbers of visitors in the first quarter of this year. Hits including Mary Poppins and The Producers have helped boost audiences for musical...

Flat Easter for UK hotels.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Performance at UK hotels was flat in March, according to the latest figures from PKF. Occupancy in London fell 0.8% to 77.1%, whilst average room rate was up 0.9% to 101.15 [pounds sterling], leaving rooms yield tip 0.1% at 78.00 [pounds...

ONS says UK inbound tourism is on the increase.(Tourism & attractions news)(Office of National Statistics )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... According to the latest set of visitor numbers from the Office of National Statistics said that, the number of overseas visitors to the UK was on the rise, while there was a slight decline in the number of UK residents taking holidays abroad....

Hoteliers uncertain over spas, says TRI.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... More than nine out of ten hoteliers believe that consumers are increasingly seeking a spa experience over other leisure activities, according to a survey by TRI Hospitality. However, most respondents believed there were better areas in...

Parcs improved.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Center Parcs, the UK holiday park operator, announced that like-for-like rent per villa was up 2.5% for the full year 2004/2005. In a trading update ahead of its preliminary results announcement on 13 July, the company said physical occupancy...

Isle of Capri 'very confident' over gaining regional casino.(Property & development news)
June 1, 2005... The chief executive of the Ricoh Arena Coventry, the 113m [pounds sterling] leisure development project, told Leisure Report that he was extremely confident that the project will attain the country's only regional casino licence. Isle of Capri,...

English Cities leads 100m [pounds sterling] Wakefield regeneration.(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... English Cities Fund is leading a 100m [pounds sterling] regeneration scheme of Wakefield that will include a 9,900 sq m leisure development. The leisure aspect of the scheme will include cafes, bars, restaurants, and a four-star hotel. The...

London's Trocadero centre attracts multiple bidders.(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Bidding for London's Trocadero has gone up to 220m [pounds sterling] thanks to a bid from Nicola Horlick, through her Brandean Asset Management group. The sale of the site, which comprises 500,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space, is...

Sheffield says no to 300m [pounds sterling] Yes!(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Development of the 300m [pounds sterling] Yes! entertainment resort in south Yorkshire was dealt a blow when Sheffield council decided not to back the scheme. The council decided that the scheme would be detrimental to Sheffield city...

RoadChef gives Costa Coffee a sweetner.(Food & drink news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... RoadChef is to change the name of its stations to RoadChef Costa Coffee, allowing it to effectively advertise the brand on road signs. The name change was implemented at the end of May, with changes to signage expected within a few weeks. ...

New financing for Krispy Kreme.(Food & drink news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Krispy Kreme has secured $225m (119m [pounds sterling]) in new financing, which it has used to pay off its $90rn debt. Steve Panagos, the company's new president and chief operating officer, said: "This is an important and positive step for...

Starbucks to reward shareholders after strong start to 2005.(Food & drink news)
June 1, 2005... Global coffee giant Starbucks is to repurchase up to 10 million shares and return the cash to shareholders, after seeing strong trading continue in the early part of this year. Since the initial authorisation of a share buyback scheme in...

KFC going back to Kentucky.(Food & drink news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... KFC is trialling a return to the full Kentucky Fried Chicken name at more than 50 sites in the US. In addition the brand is testing a new, Southern-inspired menu and an updated logo with a more youthful Colonel Sanders, wearing an apron...

McDonald's rumoured for 24-hour push.(Food & drink news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... McDonald's is rumoured to be offering its franchisees in the US incentives to open 24 hours. The brand currently has 2,500 units open around the clock. Analyst John Glass of CIBC World Markets said that McDonald's was offering operators...

Leisure operators' bars facing closure in licensing 'crisis'.(Industry news)
June 1, 2005... Industry leaders have warned that thousands of bars and pubs across the UK could be forced to close due to a licensing law meltdown. The new system is currently being put in place but the complex and bureaucratic changeover means hundreds...

Scotland to stub out smoking by April 06.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... MSPs have voted to introduce a ban on smoking in public places in Scotland from April next year, while it was announced in the Queen's speech that legislation to restrict smoking in England will be introduced in the next parliamentary session....

UK loses 48-hour opt-out.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The European Parliament has voted to end the UK's opt-out from the EU's 48-hour maximum working week. The European Union legislature voted by 378 to 262 to tighten rules on working time and phase out the opt-out over three years. The...

Stand up, if you bought Man U! Dominic Rushe of The Sunday times asks whether Glazer's takeover victory is an own goal.(Analysis--Manchester United takeover)(Malcolm Glazer)
June 1, 2005... If football really is a game of two halves, no one seems to have told Malcolm Glazer. The Florida-based tycoon has finally taken control of Manchester United after two years of feints and counter feints, some high priced share buying and three...

Learning by example? Grant Hearn, chief executive of Travelodge, says leisure firms can learn lessons from the other sectors.(Business Sense--yield management)
June 1, 2005... You know the situation, we've all been there. You grab a flight and get chatting to the person next to you. Much to your horror--or theirs, depending on how it goes--one of you pays 250 [pounds sterling] for the flight and the other only hands...

Will the wind of change blow remote operators onshore? CMS Cameron McKenna experts cast an eye over the Act's implications.(Analysis--Impact of the Gambling Act)
June 1, 2005... In April the government confirmed its commitment to wide-ranging reform of the betting and gaming industry, when the much-publicised Gambling Bill finally received Royal Assent. Whilst the Gambling Act 2005 may be significantly watered down in...

Fat cats, or the cat's whiskers? Janet Salmon looks at how top leisure executives are earning their keep.(Analysis--Executive salaries)
June 1, 2005... Pay for Performance studies executive pay in twenty major leisure companies, with a joint turnover of 62.5bn [pounds sterling], and 998,394 employees. Janet Salmon has monitored 15 of these companies for seven years, and four for two, focusing...

Hills determined to rise to top spot; Dominic Walsh says the Stanleybet deal shows Harding can last the course.(Behind the headlines--Stanleybet sale)(David Harding)
June 1, 2005... David Harding, chief executive of William Hill, ruffled a few feathers when he first arrived at the bookmaker a few years ago. Unlike most of his of his counterparts, he was not a dyed-in-the-wool bookie and he is said to have largely eschewed...

Leisure Report LR Index leisure stockwatch May 2005.(Sharewatch & diary dates)
June 1, 2005... Nearly 50m [pounds sterling] has fallen off the value of the sector since last month, with only a handful of companies registering any kind of rise in market capitalisation. Analysts have cut expectations on William Hill following the...

Diary dates.(Sharewatch & diary dates)(Calendar)
June 1, 2005... March Event: SIBEC UK Date: 8-9 Location: The Belfry conference centre, Northants Description; Forum for health and leisure operators from the trust, local authority and educational sectors to meet with suppliers Contact:...