Leisure Report articles from March 2003

Leisure Report archives from March 2003

Odeon to expand, Warner in sale talks.
March 1, 2003... Consolidation of the UK cinema market stepped up a gear with the sale of Odeon and the news that SBC International Cinemas is in talks over the 36-site Warner Village Cinemas circuit. Odeon, the operator of 97 cinema sites in the United...

Hilton to take LivingWell to the races.
March 1, 2003... Hilton Group is in negotiations to take its LivingWell health club brand into a variety of new locations including racecourses, stadia, residential schemes and non-Hilton branded hotels. Discussions are also underway with potential joint...

It's tough now, but fitness has a healthy future.(Inside track)
March 1, 2003... It is very easy to get sucked into that currently popular way of thinking about the health and fitness industry in the UK, ie that it has had its day. On the face of it, admittedly, there are quite a few worrying signs. Holmes Place lost...

Resort casino proposals gain public sector support in RDA and council plans.(News)
March 1, 2003... The campaign to allow development of resort casinos in the United Kingdom took a step forward after the Regional Development Agency and the local authority both backed the plans in key strategy documents. The North West Development Agency's...

Esporta on hunt for third CEO in 18 months.(News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Esporta, the health and fitness club operator, is searching for its third chief executive in less than 18 months after the shock departure of Kevin McCollum. Alan Smith, most recently CEO of Somerfield, the supermarket firm, and a former...

Amusement machine body welcomes deregulation for high payout AWPs.(News)(Bacta)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Bacta, the gaming and amusement machine trade association, welcomed the government's Regulatory Reform Order, which will allow players to use bank notes and smartcards in amusement machines. The full order, expected to become law by August,...

Would-be bidders tool up for SixC.(News)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The likely bidders for Six Continents' hotels division are beginning to come to the starting gate after the defeat of Hugh Osmond's attempts to block a demerger of the whole group into two Separate operating companies. Blackstone, the...

Crown Sports reveals plans to double Fitness Express contracting business.(Health & fitness news)(Dragons Health Clubs)(Fitness Express )
March 1, 2003... Crown Sports has revealed plans to double its contract management business. Martyn Grealey, the chief executive of Crown, said consolidation is the current plan for the firm's 22 Dragons Health Clubs. However, he said that there is more...

Roko takes management in-house.(Health & fitness news)(Roko Leisure)
March 1, 2003... Roko Leisure, the fitness operator, has unveiled details of its new operational structure. The company, whose major shareholders are the Civil Service Sports Council and Sellar Property Group, the developer, has taken management of its...

Personal training concept announces London roll out.(Health & fitness news)(Health Dept)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... A personal training fitness club venture backed by two property investors is to be rolled out in London. The former West 1 On One facility in Weymouth Street, W1 is being replaced by a larger facility in nearby Broadstone Place, under the...

Italy to be Virgin's first Euro location.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Virgin Active, the health club operator that is 55% owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint Capital, wilI open its first club in mainland Europe later this year. The company has confirmed its first continental site will launch in Genova,...

Children First to launch in Bristol.(Health & fitness news)(Children First Clubs )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Children First Clubs has confirmed Bristol will be the location of its first club. The first purpose-built club for children is the brainchild of Andy Baker, former group childcare manager for Next Generation Clubs. The 15,000 to 20,000 sq...

Bridgepoint-backed buyout of Holmes Place still on despite new bank talks.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The management buy-out at Holmes Place backed by the private equity firm Bridgepoint Capital is reported to be still on, even though the health and fitness operator has had to go back to its banks to renegotiate loans agreed only on 10 January....

In-the-red SpringHealth to sell two clubs.(Health & fitness news)
March 1, 2003... SpringHealth Leisure announced it is selling two of its 14 health clubs to reduce its debts and that it is closely watching a further two under-performing sites. The announcement came as it revealed results for the year to 31 August 2002,...

FIA survey to monitor consumer fitness attitudes.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Consumer attitudes to exercise and to health and fitness clubs and brands are to be constantly monitored as part of a new Fitness Industry Association initiative. The Health and Fitness Omnibus Survey has been developed by Leisure-net...

Spurs owner Levy announces plan to take ENIC private in 40m [pounds sterling] deal.(Sport news)
March 1, 2003... Daniel Levy, chairman of Tottenham Hotspur has made a 40.3m [pounds sterling] recommended cash offer for ENIC the sports, entertainment and media holding company with interests in Spurs, Glasgow Rangers and ukbetting.com. Levy made the 40p...

Chepstow up by 77%.(Sport news)(Chepstow Racecourse )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Chepstow Racecourse showed a strong recovery from the effects of foot and mouth disease on its business, with a 76.5% jump in pre-tax profit to 655,000 [pounds sterling] in 2002. In the 12 months to 31 December 2002, the course held 22 race...

James to head RHT.(Sport news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Racecourse Holdings Trust, the Jockey Club-owned operator of 13 UK racecourses, including New-market, Aintree and Cheltenham, has appointed David James as chairman. James, who starts on 7 April, is best known as a company doctor. He replaces...

Ecclestone eyes F1 as Interpublic considers selling racetracks.(Sport news)(Formula One )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Bernie Ecclestone is believed to be planning to buy back Formula One for 1bn [pounds sterling]. Ecclestone still holds 25% of the motor racing body, and is reported to be eyeing the remaining share, which is currently owned by German...

Leicester City to boost hospotality.(Football Shorts)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Leicester City Football Club plans to grow its conference, banqueting and retail business to stabilise its finances after its 5m [pounds sterling] rescue by the Lineker Consortium. The club, bought out of administration by the group fronted...

Ban lift for Millwall.(Football Shorts)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Millwall Holdings, the owner of Premier League Division One club Millwall FC, said the decision to remove the selective ban on away fans at its New Den ground next season will have a positive impact on its finances. As it announced results...

Celtic reports looses.(Football Shorts)(Celtic)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Celtic, the Scottish Premier League club, reported a pre-tax loss of 5.64m [pounds sterling] for the six months to 31 December 2002, compared with profits of 3.56m [pounds sterling] for the same period the previous year. Turnover was down from...

Tussauds Group denies sale rumours and doubles ebitda from 2000.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Tussauds Group has doubled its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in two years and denied rumours that owner Charterhouse Development Capital is selling the business. Ebitda for the year ended 31 December 2002...

Travel Inn puts in top performance for Whitbread.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Budget hotels were revealed as the star turn in Whitbread's latest trading statement, with its Travel Inn chain achieving like for like sales growth of 6% for the 51 weeks to 22 February. Whitbread said achieved room rate was up at Travel...

Hotel figures reflect war threat.(Tourism & attractions news)
March 1, 2003... Provincial hotels in the United Kingdom saw their worst single monthly loss in revpar since 11 September 2001 in January, according to the latest figures from TRI Hospitality. Revpar in the provinces saw a 3.9% fall, pulled down by a 3.1%...

Deep Sea Leisure in talks to grow via acquisitions.(Tourism & attractions news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Deep Sea Leisure, the Alternative Investment Market listed aquarium operator, is in discussions about possible acquisitions of further attractions. The company confirmed that talks are underway as it posted results for the eight months to...

X-Leisure 'to change the face of UK leisure'.(Property & development news)
March 1, 2003... X-Leisure has been unveiled as the name of Capital & Regional's new division for its Xscape destinations and the 19 leisure sites it acquired through its 30.2m [pounds sterling] purchase of Marylebone Warwick Balfour Group's fund management...

London ice rink to be redeveloped by Tesco.(Property & development news)(London Borough of Lambeth )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Streatham in South London looks set to get a new ice rink and leisure centre after planners at the London Borough of Lambeth gave the nod to proposals by Tesco to demolish existing facilities. The supermarket firm wants to build a store on...

REIT invests 50m [pounds sterling] in nine Mecca bingo sites.(Property & development news)(REIT Asset Management )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... REIT Asset Management is looking for further leisure investments after buying nine Mecca bingo centres from Heron International for 50m [pounds sterling]. The acquisition, due to complete in the next few weeks, represents a 7.5% yield for...

West Pier plans gain approval.(Property & development news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Brighton's West Pier is closer to getting a new lease of life after Brighton and Hove Council granted permission to a 34m [pounds sterling] redevelopment plan by St Modwen, the developer. The plans, which also received Government Office...

Ask hails 'robust results in difficult times'.(Eating & drinking news)
March 1, 2003... Ask Central, the pizza restaurant chain, patted itself on the back for delivering "robust results in difficult circumstances" for the year to 29 December 2002. The company, which is up to 145 outlets from Edinburgh to Exeter after nearly...

Madisons almost halves its losses.(Eating & drinking news)(Madisons Coffee )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Madisons Coffee cut its first-half losses to 12 January 2O03 by 45% compared to the same time last year, while current like-for-like sales are up 3.5% Turnover for the period fell 14.4% to 6.6m [pounds sterling] after the company disposed...

Woodroffe to sell 30% Yo! Sushi stake to finance growth.(Eating & drinking news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Simon Woodroffe is planing to sell a 30% stake in his Yo! Sushi restautant chain to raise money to double the number of its restaurants in the UK and expand overseas through franchising. Woodroffe, who opened the first Yo! Sushi in Poland...

Caffe Nero to consider further joint ventures.(Eating & drinking news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Gerry Ford, the chairman of Caffe Nero Group, said the company is considering opening outlets in partnership with other parties, including coffee shops within other leisure venues. The company already has two partnership sites with...

Cinema conference told UK market 'could take further 800 screens'.(Cinema & entertainment news)
March 1, 2003... The cinema market in the United Kingdom has the potential to grow by another 800 screens by 2010, despite talk of overscreening in the sector. This was one of the views put forward by JHD Advisors, the property, economics and market...

Coronet reopens as entertainment and film venue.(Cinema & entertainment news)(Pure Group)(Pure Management)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Coronet, the former cinema at London's Elephant & Castle, was due to reopen at the end of March after a 2m [pounds sterling] revamp as a club, cinema, performance space and event facility. Owned by Pure Group and managed by Pure...

Rank continues to improve gaming estate prior to deregulation.(Betting & gaming news)
March 1, 2003... The Rank Group has unveiled details of its further investment in relocation of casino and bingo sites as it prepares for new gaming laws. This year, the company will open relocated Grosvenor Casinos in Huddersfield, Portsmouth and Plymouth....

William Hill posts record profits.(Betting & gaming news)
March 1, 2003... The first full year of the gross profit tax, the football World Cup, increased Sunday opening and new types of bets all helped William Hill to record profits for 2002. In the year ended 31 December 2002, during which time William Hill...

Mason hopes to restructure debt.(Betting & gaming news)(Mason Organisation)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Mason Organisation, the operator of North East-based bingo clubs, amusement centres and pubs, has called in administrators to help stabilise its finances. The company's eight bingo halls, 20 amusement centres and three pubs will continue...

E-betting to the rescue at Hilton as hotel profits fall.(Betting & gaming news)
March 1, 2003... On-line betting services helped cushion a near-17% drop in hotel profits at Hilton Group. Total group pre-tax profit before exceptional items for the year to end of 2002 was 271.4m [pounds sterling], at the top end of analysts' forecasts...

Wembley on track to grow greyhound stadium portfolio.(Betting & gaming news)
March 1, 2003... Wembley, the track-based gaming company, is close to acquiring an existing greyhound track and has secured a site to build another. The two sites would boost its UK greyhound stadium portfolio to eight. The firm confirmed the plans as it...

Paddy Power posts record turnover and profit.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Paddy Power, the Irish betting shop operator, reported record turnover, operating profit and earnings per share for the year ended 31 December. Turnover was up 46% to 673.8m [euro] (457.7m [pounds sterling]) and profit before tax almost...

Sir John Egan rallies Arena event audience to support action on Iraq.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Sir John Egan, the president of the Confederation for British Industry and London Tourist Board, vice chairman of the British Hospitality Association and board member of London First, called for the industry to support the government over its...

Best Practice Forum launches first report.(Industry news)
March 1, 2003... Best practice is not purely the preserve of larger firms in the leisure and hospitality industry, as many believe, and in fact many big operators could learn from their small and medium counterparts. This was one of the findings of the Best...

House of Lords backs live music in Licensing Bill vote.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The House of Lords voted against several of the governments provisions in the Licensing Bill, including moves that could have restricted live music in pubs. Peers voted by 151 to 115 to exempt most unamplified live music in pubs from...

Westminster City Council angers trade groups.(Industry news)(Westminster City Council)(British Beer & Pub Association)(Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Westminster City Council has launched a public inquiry into the liberalisation of licensing, but has angered some groups by failing to invite them to participate. The council met on 4 March to hear evidence, with the final report due in...

No-frills flying--what's in it for the hotels? Nick Pattie, director at KPMG, on the relationship between low-cost air travel and hotel development.(Research--the impact of budget airlines)
March 1, 2003... The deregulation of the EU airline market in 1997 has helped create new and incremental travel market segments but has the increased volume and regional distribution of travellers presented the hotel industry with new opportunities from which...

Feeling fitter? Fat chance! David Minton reports from the fitness industry's largest annual event.(Conference report--IHRSA)(International Health, Racquet & Sports Club Association)
March 1, 2003... Public transport fares rising ahead of inflation, or even doubling on some tourist routes; ballet dancers and musicians being made redundant to reduce arts budget deficits and ever more beggars and homeless people on the street. And then...

Is there dough in PizzaExpress? Dominic Walsh from the times looks at the bidders for the troubled restaurant operator.(Behind the headlines)
March 1, 2003... Events at PizzaExpress in the last few months have had a distinct air of the surreal, with the three men who floated the company a decade ago all vying to reverse that process by bidding to take it private. First out of the traps in...

'Hairy bingo' on track for growth: Tina Milton looks at how dog tracks are planning to evolve into 21st Century leisure destinations.(Sector update--greyhound racetracks)(British Greyhound Racing Board )
March 1, 2003... The UK greyhound industry has experienced some hairy times of late. Last year some operators saw a 5% drop in attendances and were hit by the World Cup football phenomenon and the growing threat ffom off-course betting on race data. But the...

Leisure Report LR Index leisure stockwatch March 2003.(Sharewatch)
March 1, 2003... Holmes Place suffered the biggest fall this month, with shares losing just over half their value, largely due to the company's fourth profit warning since last July.The price did start inching upwards amid rumours that a long-awaited bid was...

Diary dates.(Sharewatch)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
March 1, 2003... April Event: Arena--Lunch with Yo! Sushi Date: 8 Location: Shaw Park Plaza, London NWl Description: Robin Rowland, the managing director of YO! Sushi will present his brand Contact: 020 8395 6065, www.arena.org.uk Event: Sport's Game...