Leisure Report articles from June 2007

Leisure Report archives from June 2007

VisitBritain job cuts show lack of respect to UK tourism industry.(Industry overview)
June 1, 2007... VisitBritain, the UK's national tourist board, has been forced to cut staff numbers and announce a number of redundancies in its London and European offices, prompting a wave of condemnation from within the UK tourism industry. The...

Death of a seaside town, or country.(Inside track)(VisitBritain )
June 1, 2007... We have long bemoaned the death of the traditional British seaside resort, and the furore over the decision to cut off Blackpool's lifeline by awarding the regional casino licence to Manchester (legal fight aside) illustrates just how important...

Current like-for-likes up more than 7% across Luminar's nightclubs.(Breaking News)(Luminar Leisurec)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Luminar, the quoted nightclub group, last week reported current like-for-like sales up 7.3% for the first 10 weeks of the year across its dancing division. The company, which in December disposed of the Chicago Rock Cafe and Jumpin' Jaks...

Plans approved for 1.5bn [pounds sterling] Silvertown.(Breaking News)
June 1, 2007... Newham Borough Council has given its approval for the commencement of work on the 1.5bn [pounds sterling] redevelopment of Royal Victoria Docks in East London. Already recognised as one of Europe's largest regeneration schemes, and close to the...

Champneys backers bemoan lack of profits.(Breaking News)
June 1, 2007... Shareholders in health resort Champneys are complaining that they receive no income. Four million redeemable preference shares were issued to founder members ten years ago and should now have matured, netting anything from 4,000 [pounds...

Ladbrokes on track to meet full-year profit expectations.(Breaking News)(Financial report)
June 1, 2007... Ladbrokes has announced that it expects trading for 2007 to be in line with expectations. The company said that, during the four months to 30 April, good progress had been made with the renewal of its FOBT estate, that it had experienced...

Stan James leads fastest growing leisure groups.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Family owned bookmaker Stan James, which has 20 betting shops around its Oxfordshire base, is placed 29th in The Sunday Times Profit Track 100 list of Britain's private firms with the fastest growing profits. Profits have snared 70% a year from...

Olympics won't create tourism boom.
June 1, 2007... A new report commissioned by London's political leaders concludes that the 2012 Olympics will not bring about a boom in tourism. Academics at the London East research institute at the University of East London said that far from producing a 2bn...

Online bingo gains in popularity.
June 1, 2007... Online bingo is the newest internet gambling fad to be exploited by the big operators. The imminent smoking ban means some players will switch to playing at home in front of their computers, but the online game has been in growth for several...

Scifit targets further UK expansion.(Health & Fitness News)
June 1, 2007... Scifit, the US-based manufacturer of bespoke exercise equipment, has announced its expansion into the UK market with the establishment of a new UK subsidiary of its USA parent company, together with the recruitment and appointment of several...

Gillis quits Esporta fuelling DLL rumours.(Health & Fitness News)
June 1, 2007... Neil Gillis, chief executive of Esporta, and financial director Michael Ball, have resigned from the upmarket fitness chain, prompting speculation that the 1bn [pounds sterling] auction for Whitbread's David Lloyd Leisure estate is now a...

Visitor success as children's gym reaps reward.(Health & Fitness News)(Bath Sports and Leisure Centre )(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Bath's first interactive children's gym has been rewarded with a doubling of visitor numbers since its opening in January. Visitors to the Active Zone at Bath Sports and Leisure Centre hit 532 in its first month and by March had almost...

DC Leisure completes energy-saving refurbishment at Wyre Forest.(Health & Fitness News)
June 1, 2007... Refurbishment of the 975,000 [pounds sterling] Wyre Forest Glades Leisure Centre in Kidderminster has reached completion. The project, which was jointly funded by DC Leisure and Wyre Forest District Council, has seen the facilities upgraded, to...

Powerleague on target with new site openings.(Sport News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Powerleague, the listed commercial operator of five-a-side football centres in the UK, said it was confident of meeting full-year targets. The group currently has 34 centres encompassing 356 floodlit, all-weather outdoor pitches, attracting...

Survey shows 69% of English adults participate in sport.(Sport News)(Survey)
June 1, 2007... More than nine out of ten adults in England have engaged in at least one form of cultural or sporting opportunity during the past twelve months, a new report has revealed. The survey was commissioned by the Department for Culture, Media...

PWC China selected as 2008 Olympic accountants.(Sport News)
June 1, 2007... The Beijing Organising Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) has named Pricewater-houseCoopers Zhong Tian CPAs Limited Company (PwC) as the accounting services supplier of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. In this role, PwC...

London hotel's golf simulator.(Sport News)
June 1, 2007... The Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London has launched the first hotel golf simulator. Participants use real clubs to hit golf balls into a screen depicting 62 different well-known courses. A monitor analyses the speed of the shot, the angle of...

No bubble burst for BetOnMarkets.(Betting & Gaming News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... BetOnMarkets, the world's leading fixed-odds financial betting operator, posted record financial results for the year ended 31 December 2006. Turnover increased 34% to a record $100m (50m [pounds sterling]), and gross profit rose 290% to a...

L&G on the road to recovery.(Betting & Gaming News)(Leisure and Gaming)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Leisure & Gaming is starting to regroup after selling its American subsidiaries in the wake of the US ban. The company is building a presence in parts of Europe, with 1,100 retail outlets in Italy and plans to enter markets such as Romania and...

Betex updates market on China crisis.(Betting & Gaming News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Betex, the Chinese-facing gaming firm which has currently suspended its shares following the arrest of a number of executives in China, has released the following statement: "Further to the announcement made on 18 April 2007, the company has...

Gaming VC emerges from 'challenging year'.(Betting & Gaming News)
June 1, 2007... Gaming VC, the European online gaming firm, said that 2006 had been a "challenging year", but it was confident it was now in a stronger position to deliver results. Announcing unaudited preliminary results for the year to 31 December 2006,...

Inspired signs cloud deal.(Betting & Gaming News)
June 1, 2007... Inspired Gaming Group, the open server-based gaming group, has signed a seven-year exclusive agreement to provide network services to The Cloud, a wireless broadband provider. Inspired has committed to extend its WiFi network for The Cloud with...

PartyGaming issues warning.(Betting & Gaming News)
June 1, 2007... PartyGaming warned that its full-year profits would be below par, in spite of a 26% rise to $94.8m (47m [pounds sterling]). The drop follows heavy investment to attract new players in the wake of the ban on online gaming in the US.

BetonSports founder pleads not guilty in US.(Betting & Gaming News)
June 1, 2007... Gary Kaplan, the founder of BetonSports, who was arrested in March in the Dominican Republic, has pleaded not guilty to racketeering and wire fraud charges relating to online gambling at the US District Court in St Louis. The charges...

Rank to sell 10% of English bingo estate ahead of smoking ban.(Betting & Gaming News)
June 1, 2007... The Rank Group has put almost 10% of its 103 Mecca bingo clubs estate, spread across England, up for sale. They are the ones expected to suffer most when the smoking ban comes into effect on July 1. Revenues at Rank's bingo halls in...

Bill looks to overturn US internet gaming embargo.(Betting & Gaming News)
June 1, 2007... The Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services took the first step towards a possible repeal of the internet gambling ban in the US by introducing a Bill to exempt properly licensed operators. The Internet Gambling...

Fun narrows first-quarter loss with 87% sales surge.(Betting & Gaming News)(earnings of Fun Technologies)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Fun Technologies, the provider of online and interactive casual and fantasy sports games and sports information, reported a posted a narrowed first-quarter loss on the back of an 87% year-on-year sales rise, and said it expects its full-year...

888 Holdings hits record earnings.(Betting & Gaming News)
June 1, 2007... 888 Holdings, the online gaming firm, has reported record earnings for the 12 months to 31 December 2006, despite its US-facing operations being ruled illegal from the start of its fourth quarter. Pre-tax profit increased by 34% to $90.5m...

William Hill on track for FY target.(Betting & Gaming News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... William Hill, the bookmaker, has said it is confident with analysts' forecasts for the year. In a trading statement the company said that group gross win had increased by 5.8% in the 19 weeks to May 8 compared with the same period last...

Cineworld sets box-office alight.(Cinema & Entertainments News)
June 1, 2007... Shares in Cineworld, the UK cinema operator, soared by up to 14% following their stock market debut last month, after the firm completed the fastest flotation in the history of the London market. Although companies which had previously...

Mama hits right notes with H1 profit.(Cinema & Entertainments News)(earnings of Mama Group)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Mama Group, the holding company behind a number of music and marketing services businesses, posted a 43.5% rise in turnover for the six-months to 31 January 2007, and said pre-tax profits were 930,000, [pounds sterling] compared to a restated...

Georgica posts 4% sales fall across Rileys.(Cinema & Entertainments News)(Financial report)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Georgica, the leisure group, has reported a 4.1% drop in sales in Riley's, its pool, snooker and poker brand, for the 13 weeks to 1 April. However, it said that the initial financial results of the introduction of poker in 128 Riley's were...

Movida at Ascot.(Cinema & Entertainments News)
June 1, 2007... Nightclub Movida has signed a deal to provide "hospitality" at Royal Ascot this year. A large temporary club will be erected to host an all-night party called "Movida Rocks Royal Ascot".

Nightclubs profiteering on cash withdrawals.(Cinema & Entertainments News)
June 1, 2007... The most expensive charges at cash withdrawal machines are those in nightclubs and lap-dancing bars, according to Link, the company behind Britain's ATM network. Although most ATM machines charge an average of 1.62 [pounds sterling] per...

Novus to launch new bar concepts including Karaoke offering.(Cinema & Entertainments News)(Novus Leisure)
June 1, 2007... Novus Leisure, the late-night bar operator, plans to launch a new bar concept across 30 sites over the next three years. The new contemporary bar, which is aimed at 20- to 40-year old professionals, will have no set brand name and each...

London reverses UK visitor numbers decline.(Tourism & Attractions News)
June 1, 2007... The number of domestic visitors staying overnight in London rose by 2.6% in 2006 to 10.9 million-the only region in England to see an increase in domestic visits in the last year. Spending also rose by 8.4% to 2.27bn [pounds sterling] . ...

UK tourism deficit increases to 18.2bn [pounds sterling].(Tourism & Attractions News)
June 1, 2007... The UK's tourism deficit has increased again, rising to 18.2bn [pounds sterling] for the 12 months to March, it was announced last month. The publication of figures by the Office for National Statistics will place increasing pressure on...

BMF welcomes EU ruling on waterways liability.(Tourism & Attractions News)
June 1, 2007... The British Marine Federation said it was pleased with the European Parliament's decision to remove inland waterways from the scope of the Regulation on Carrier Liability. The European Commission had been considering a requirement for...

Pleasure Beach pleases punters.(Tourism & Attractions News)(Blackpool Pleasure Beach )(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Somewhat disproving the desperate clamour for a supercasino, Blackpool Pleasure Beach attracts more visitors each year than the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, the Pyramids or the Taj Mahal, according to a survey by Forbes Traveller. ...

Tourism marketing provides 19m [pounds sterling] lift to East Midlands economy.(Tourism & Attractions News)
June 1, 2007... Domestic and overseas tourism marketing campaigns funded by East Midlands Tourism (EMT), and delivered by a number of partners including the region's five Destination Management Partnerships (DMPs), have yielded over 19m [pounds sterling] in...

Pret eyes IPO.
June 1, 2007... Pret A Manger said it is considering an initial public offering, which could raise up to 280m [pounds sterling], to fuel its rapid expansion plans. The company, which operates around 160 sites in the UK, said it was in the early stages of...

Greggs sees rise in LFLs.(like-for-like)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Greggs has reported a 4.9% increase in like-for-like sales for the 18 weeks to 5 May 2007, driven by increased consumer traffic and favourable weather conditions. The company said that as a result of this sales performance, operating profit in...

Feng Sushi to open Royal Festival Hall site.(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Feng Sushi, the Japanese fast-casual restaurant and take away concept, will open its sixth site in June on the south bank by London's Royal Festival Hall. The new 1,400 sq ft outlet, which will open next to Ping Pong, will have about 35...

Krispy Kreme opens 31st store.
June 1, 2007... Krispy Kreme has opened its 31st UK store, in the Oracle shopping centre in Reading. The company invested 300,000 [pounds sterling] in the 1,400sq ft 22-cover site, which is located in front of the canal near the cinema complex. The...

Ever-expanding starbucks taking the piste with SnowDome deal.(Food & Drink News)
June 1, 2007... Starbucks Coffee Company UK is taking to the piste, having signed a deal with SnowDome that will see a coffee house open next to the new indoor ski slopes in Tamworth, Staffordshire. The 'real snow' leisure operator has unveiled a Starbucks...

Roadchef reports 4.6% rise in second-quarter Ebitda.(Food & Drink News)(Financial report)
June 1, 2007... Roadchef, the motorway service station operator, has reported a 4.6% increase in Ebitda to 3.3m [pounds sterling] for the 12 weeks to 11 March 2007 compared to the same period last year. The company, which was acquired in April by Delek...

Happy meals cheer McDonald's.(Food & Drink News)
June 1, 2007... McDonald's announced a 4.8% rise in sales for April, driven by demand for Happy Meals in its home market. The group also reported strong sales in France, Russia, Japan and China. In the US and Europe sales rose by 3.5%, with Russia and France...

BK invests $3m on UK's underperforming sites.(Food & Drink News)
June 1, 2007... Burger King invested $3m (1.5m [pounds sterling]) closing down restaurants and helping under-performing franchisees in the UK during the three months to 31 March 2007. The company, which reported a 70% rise in net income to $34m during its...

Hotels are key to leisure property investment.(Property & Development News)
June 1, 2007... Hotels are the most profitable longterm property investments, with the industry having outperformed the commercial sector by 32.5% over a 13-year period, according to new research. The study by PKF, Institutional-Investment in UK Hotels,...

Edelman joins board as Nirah secures further funding for site.(Property & Development News)(Keith Edelman)(O and H Properties Limited's investment)
June 1, 2007... Nirah, the leisure concept which aims to uniquely combine visitor and research facilities around the central theme of fresh water--housing an aquatic theme park and the world's largest freshwater aquarium--has announced that Keith Edelman,...

PMP consults on Kent watersports centre.(Property & Development News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... A team from PMP, the leisure consultancy, has been appointed to investigate the feasibility of building a new water sports centre and rowing course at a lake in Ashford, Kent. Situated to the north east of the town centre, the lake...

Olympic Velopark architects shortlist announced.(Property & Development News)
June 1, 2007... The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has short-listed the final eight architects for the VeloPark design competition. The concepts will be assessed by a design board in late June, which will include Sir Nicholas Serota and Sunand Prasad....

New 600m [pounds sterling] landmark stadium planned for Portsmouth FC.(Property & Development News)
June 1, 2007... Portsmouth Football Club has unveiled plans for a new 600m [pounds sterling] stadium, to be built on the city's waterfront. Herzog & de Meuron, the Swiss architects behind the Beijing National Stadium and the Allianz Stadium in Munich, have...

Three-quarters of leisure firms 'are prepared for the smoking ban'.(Industry News)
June 1, 2007... Nearly three-quarters (74%) of hospitality businesses in England feel prepared for the smoking ban and have been given sufficient information about the change in the law, according to a new report. The study by Beacon, the hospitality...

Poor working environment affects staff.(Industry News)
June 1, 2007... Staff in the hospitality and service sector take more than double the amount of sick days off than workers in other industries, according to a recent survey. A study carried out by Lightspeed Research found that 38% of hospitality and...

Oyster credit card available in September.(Industry News)(Barclaycard)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Barclaycard will launch its Oyster credit card in September this year after a successful trial. Cardholders will be able to use the card in fast food restaurants, coffee shops, bars, pubs and newsagents, as well as vending facilities. ...

Hospitality firms 'three times more likely to bust'.(Industry News)
June 1, 2007... Hotels, restaurants and pubs are three times more likely to close down than any other businesses, according to a recent study. The research by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young found that 15.5% of hospitality and catering companies go bust,...

Website to aid seasonal staff recruitment.(Industry News)
June 1, 2007... A website has been launched which is designed to help solve the problem of recruiting temporary staff over the busy seasonal periods. The site--www.holidayjobsuk.co.uk--aims to bring together holiday jobs with candidates such as students...

Loud venues may need to provide ear plugs.(Industry News)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Noisy leisure venues may have to make their staff wear ear plugs in order to comply with new noise regulations to be enforced next April. A new survey by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) found that 68% of employers are...

Spa trekking: David Minton takes time out from the jet-set lifestyle to explain why spas are burgeoning in popularity, even if we still can't agree what exactly they are.(Industry News)(Viewpoint essay)
June 1, 2007... If you've been reading the press headlines that Renee Zellweger suffers from anorexia then let me put your mind at rest and tell you she's fine. I know because I've just had lunch with her. Well to be technically correct I was on the next table...

Is localisation "on trend"? Research by Paul Flatters and James Buchanan of The Future Foundation on behalf of Shepherd Neame suggests that venues selling local beers can tap into powerful consumer movement.(Insight: Consumer power)
June 1, 2007... Ten years ago the prospects for real-ale* looked bleak. Its customers were getting older and a fusty image was making it very difficult to attract new ones. Since then, however, consumer preferences have changed. Local is in. Tradition is in....

Pay for performance 2007: Janet Salmon delivers a summary of 'Pay for Performance'--her annual study of leisure firms' financial performance, compared with their executives' remuneration.(Insight: Pay for performance)
June 1, 2007... Does executive pay reflect company performance? The Pay for Performance review has monitored 20 leading leisure companies since 1990, focusing on chief executives' total earnings, compared with turnover (since 2000) and profits (since 2002 )....

Sweet charity or a sour taste? Sara Rogers, a partner at Clarion Solicitors, looks at the benefits and some of the pitfalls of creating a charitable trust to provide leisure services for local authorities.(Business sense: Charitable trusts)
June 1, 2007... Historically, leisure infrastructure for the provision of sports, arts and heritage has been provided by or largely financed by government funds, either through local authority provision or by support from grant-making bodies. But times are...

Welcome to the future: the future is often unclear for businesses, writes Ray Algar, but how hard are we trying to look into it? He reports on his findings from a recent conference.(Insight: Futurism)
June 1, 2007... 'My flight to Copenhagen has just been cancelled; the SAS cabin crew are striking'. The well-dressed business traveller placed his phone back in his top pocket, shrugged his shoulders and drifted away. My attendance at the Copenhagen Institute...

Open the social community chest: John Tilley reports from Gambit on two companies who are trying to break into new sectors of the UK gaming market through their entirely fresh approaches to the customer.(Insight: Gambit on gaming innovation)(Endemol UK)(Gottabet.com)
June 1, 2007... To seek out new customers and find ways to attract new 'blood' to a maturing market, to open and develop a new niche in an existing industry sector, to boldly go where no-one has gone before... Star-Trek puns aside, innovation has fuelled...

DCMS.(People on the move)(Department for Culture Media and Sport)(appointment of Jill Ainscough, Philip Lemanski, Mich Stevenson at Sport England)
June 1, 2007... The DCMS has announced the appointment of five additional members to the board of Sport England. Jill Ainscough, Philip Lemanski, Mich Stevenson, James Stewart and Martin Thomas will bring extensive business, finance and marketing...

William Hill.(People on the move)(appointment of lan Spearing and Ralph Topping)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... William Hill announced that it had appointed to the board lan Spearing and Ralph Topping, two of its most experienced senior executives, as executive directors. These appointments "reflect the substantial increase in size and complexity of...

Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).(People on the move)(appointment of John Armitt )(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... John Armitt CBE has been appointed chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), the body charged with building the key venues, facilities and infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Tessa Jowell said: "John Armitt will be an...

The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA).(People on the move)
June 1, 2007... The Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) has strengthened its Business Team with the appointment of Alan Green as ASA business manager in the South West Region for the South West to help improve the quality of swimming delivery across the region....

Marks & Spencer.(People on the move)(appointment of Carl Leaver)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Carl Leaver, the former chief executive of the De Vere Group, has been appointed director of international business at Marks & Spencer. He left De Vere days after the completion of the company's 1.1bn [pounds sterling] sale to Alternative...

PartyGaming.(People on the move)
June 1, 2007... PartyGaming, the listed online gaming company, said Tim Bristow has joined the board as an independent non-executive director. Bristow is chief executive of Gibtelecom, Gibraltar's primary telecommunications provider, a position he has held...

Life Fitness.(People on the move)(appointment of Lawra Joseph, Nick Mennell, Charlie Adams )(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Life Fitness has announced four new appointments within its sales and marketing divisions. Lawra Joseph (above) has been recruited to the position of marketing manager. Nick Mennell joins as territory manager for the Midlands. Most...

Gaming VC Holdings.(People on the move)
June 1, 2007... Gaming VC Holdings, the European online gaming provider, said Steven Barlow had tendered his resignation as a non-executive director with effect from the conclusion of the firm's AGM on 15 May. Adrian Smith, non-executive chairman said: "The...

Millwall Holdings.(People on the move)
June 1, 2007... Millwall Holdings has named Andy Ambler its finance director and the chief operating officer of Millwall FC. Ambler, a director of Align 2 and Mybuy, previously worked as a director of Fulham Football Club, and Fulham FC Community Sports...

Leisure & Gaming.(People on the move)
June 1, 2007... Leisure & Gaming, the online sports betting group, said that Benjamin Shaw, executive director, had become a non-executive director.

Watford Leisure.(People on the move)(Giacomo and Vincenzo Russo are no longer directors of the company)(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Watford Leisure said Giacomo and Vincenzo Russo had "been removed as directors of the company with immediate effect". Graham Simpson, chairman, said: "On behalf of the board I would like to express our gratitude to Giacomo and Vincenzo Russo...

Lifetime.(People on the move)(appointment of Julie Proctor and Claire Pratt )(Brief article)
June 1, 2007... Lifetime, the leisure training provider, has announced more new additions to its team. Julie Proctor as been appointed as sales training manager to deliver the company's new sales training solutions, and Claire Pratt as regional assessor to...

The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA).(People on the move)
June 1, 2007... The International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) unveiled the appointment of Richard Bilton, President of Companhia Athletica as IHRSA Board Special Advisor for Latin America. The one-year appointment began April 1.

LR Index leisure stockwatch May 2007.(Sharewatch)
June 1, 2007... Taking the stock exchange by storm last month was Cineworld--its long-awaited IPO setting records for the fastest listing in market history, although investors had been waiting for this flotation for some time and it wasn't exactly a bolt from...

Diary dates: May/June.(Diary dates)(Calendar)
June 1, 2007... May Event: FIA Managing Sales Seminar Date: 30 Location: Nottingham, UK Description: Professional development seminar focusing on managing sales. REPs CPD points awarded. Open to FIA members and nonmembers. Contact: +44...