Leisure Report articles from September 2003

Leisure Report archives from September 2003

Ex-Rank exec unveils plans for global chain of Hard Rock theme parks.(FHTP LLC )
September 1, 2003... A $225m development proposed for Myrtle Beach, South Colorado, could be the first in a global chain of Hard Rock-branded theme parks, the project's creators believe. FHTP LLC has won approval from Horry County Planning Commission to rezone...

Health clubs need to treat members as individuals.(Inside track)
September 1, 2003... Now Topnotch has finally gone into administration, can we dare to hope that this is the beginning of the end of the worst downturn the health and fitness industry has ever seen? LA Fitness remains determined to retain its public status and...

Georgica to study Megabowl losses before bid.(News)
September 1, 2003... Nick Oppenheim, the chief executive of Georgica, the tenpin and cue sports firm, said he did not know the reasons for the poor performance of the Megabowl tenpin centres compared to those wholly owned by Allied Leisure. He said this would have...

Walker on track for deregulation after BIMBO.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Walker Group, the operator of 13 bingo clubs across the Midlands and North of England, is considering its future expansion after a buy in/management buyout backed by Close Brothers Growth Capital and Bank of Scotland Corporate Banking. The...

Theme park industry shake-up on the cards.(News)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The shake-up of the theme park industry is gathering pace with the news that Advent International, the private equity firm from the United States, said it is considering a Eu6.1 per share bid for Parques Reunidos, the listed Spanish leisure...

Wembley chiefs step down to fight Grand Jury.(News)
September 1, 2003... Nigel Potter, the chief executive of Wembley, the track-based gaming firm, and Dan Bucci, the chief executive of Lincoln Park, one of its subsidiaries in the United States of America, have temporarily relinquished their executive duties to...

Johnson and Lloyd mull Reebok club bids.(Health & fitness news)(Reebok Sports Club London)(Next Generation Clubs)
September 1, 2003... Luke Johnson, the founder of the PizzaExpress restaurant business, and Next Generation Clubs, the lifestyle club chain owned by father and son David and Scott Lloyd, confirmed they are separately considering buying the Reebok Sports Club London...

LivingWell scraps joining fee ...(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Living Well Health Clubs, the Hilton Group-owned fitness firm, has now replaced the membership fee across its sites with a standard 25 [pounds sterling] administration charge. Paul Shafar, the finance director of LivingWell, said the move...

... And scoops FLAME awards.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... LivingWell did particularly well in the ninth annual Fitness Leadership and Management Excellence, winning the top prize for Club of the Year with over 2,500 members, for the second consecutive year, as well as having a runner up in both that...

Esporta boss shakes up management.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Neil Gillis, the new chief executive of Esporta who took up his role at the end of August, has already made his presence felt with a shake-up of the company's management. John Treharne, the firm's South-East regional manager has now left,...

DLL shows greatest growth for Whitbread.(Health & fitness news)
September 1, 2003... The David Lloyd Leisure division put in the best performance for Whitbread in the first half of financial year, with like-for-like sales growing 6.7% in the 24 weeks to 14 August. David Thomas, the chief executive of Whitbread, said: "David...

Crown looks to future after restructuring.(Health & fitness news)
September 1, 2003... Crown Sports, owner of the Dragons health clubs chain, told investors that after disposing of its loss-making golf clubs and an Australian publishing operation it was now "well positioned to deliver strong growth." Interim results for the...

Clubhaus looks at MBO as an answer to debt problems.(Health & fitness news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Clubhaus, the golf and fitness operator, is contemplating a management buy-out as a solution to its debt problems. In a trading statement, the company said like-for-like sales for its 11 remaining clubs for the full year will be...

FIA launches anti-fat campaign.(Health & fitness news)(Fitness Industry Association )
September 1, 2003... The Fitness Industry Association launched its On the Move to 2010 campaign at the Leisure Industry Week/Bodylife event in Birmingham earlier this month. Under the scheme, which has the strapline "20 million Britons are overweight, let's...

Northern floats through 34m [pounds sterling] Chepstow deal.(Sport news)(Chepstow Racecourse)(Sir Stanley Clarke)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Sir Stanley Clarke, the chairman of Northern Racing, the UK's largest independent racecourse operator, is set to achieve a low-cost listing for the group through its acquisition by Chepstow Racecourse. Chepstow, the top-ranked Welsh...

Arena trebles operating profit.(Sport news)
September 1, 2003... Arena Leisure, the largest independent racecourse owner in the United Kingdom, unveiled improved results for the six months to 30 June, with operating profit up 209% from the same period in 2002, at 3.2m [pounds sterling]. Group turnover...

RCA announces board appointments.(Sport news)(Racecourse Association )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The new board of the Racecourse Association took office on 1 September, after appointments and elections among the 59 member racecourses. A new structure for the board, approved by RCA members in July, gives automatic representation for...

Southampton to AIM.(Football shorts)(Southampton Leisure Holdings)(Southampton Football Club)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Southampton Leisure Holdings, owner of Southampton Football Club, is transferring its shares from the official List to the Alternative Investment Market on 20 October, to help reduce costs. SLH announced a pre-tax loss of 500,000 [pounds...

Millwall scores loss.(Football shorts)(Millwall Football Club)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Millwall Holdings, owner of First Division Millwall Football Club, sustained losses of 4.7m [pounds sterling] for the year to 31 May, compared to a profit of 60,000 [pounds sterling] last year. The firm blamed the collapse of ITV Digital and...

'No bids' for Man Utd.(Football shorts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Manchester United denied reports that a number of takeover bids of about 600m [pounds sterling] are imminent as "pure speculation." Minority shareholder and Dutch television producer Jon de Mol; an unnamed Russian; an unnamed Middle Eastern...

Preston down.(Football shorts)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Preston North End suffered a 42% drop in turnover in the year to 30 June compared to the previous 12 months, leading to a 2.59m [pounds sterling] operating loss against last year's 1.86m [pounds sterling] profit. The collapse of ITV Digital had...

Rank announces combined bingo and casino plans.(Betting & gaming news)
September 1, 2003... The Rank Group announced plus for further investment in gaming facilities, including combined bingo and casino centres, as it unveiled results that showed it is already benefiting from this strategy. In the six months to 30 June, profit...

E-gaming nets biggest wins for William Hill.(Betting & gaming news)
September 1, 2003... William Hill's interactive division, comprising the online sportsbook and casino, achieved the biggest gross win growth for the firm at 38.6m [pounds sterling] for the six months ended 1 July, up 32% on the 29.3m [pounds sterling] generated by...

Ladbrokes helps soften hotels blow for Hilton.(Betting & gaming news)
September 1, 2003... A strong performance from the Ladbrokes betting division helped counterbalance the expected decline in hotel profits for Hilton Group. Overall the group saw total turnover rise 55% to 3.97bn [pounds sterling] for the six months ended 30...

Paddy Power remains confident for future growth despite drop in profits.(Betting & gaming news)
September 1, 2003... Paddy Power, Ireland's leading off-course bookmaker, suffered a 25% drop in operating profit for the six months ended 30 June, making 6.8m[pounds sterling] compared to 9.1m[pounds sterling] for the same period in 2002. However, the...

New force in interactive gaming.(Betting & gaming news)(The Gaming Channel)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Damian Cope, the co-founder of the UK's first internet betting service, Blue Square, has launched The Gaming Channel, an interactive gambling operator and service provider. The new company is taking over the operations of Avago, the...

Crockfords performance 'likely' to hit Stanley.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Leonard Steinberg, the chairman of Stanley Leisure, warned that profits in the first half of the financial year were "likely" to be "materially below" the level achieved in the same period in 2002. Speaking at the company's AGM, Steinberg...

Exhibitions firm close to gaming deal.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Earls Court & Olympia Group has recruited the former chairman of London Clubs International, Alan Goodenough, to advise it on its gaming ambitions. The company is believed to be close to signing a joint venture with a third party. MGM...

Aspinall bids to take firm private.(Betting & gaming news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Damian Aspinall has made a 0.17p-a-share offer for Aspinalls Online after its poor performance on the Alternative Investment Market. Aspinall is the only employee of the company and its AIM listing is Aspinall Online's main overhead. The...

easyCinema to offer first run film for 1 [pounds sterling].(Cinema & entertainment news)(easyCinema)
September 1, 2003... easyCinema has made headway in its campaign against what it says are the anti-competitive practices of leading film distributors, after 20th Century Fox agreed to supply a first run film to the firms Milton Keynes multiplex. Down with...

Newbury adds to tenpin portfolio.(Cinema & entertainment news)(Newbury Leisure)(PB Leisure)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Newbury Leisure has expanded its portfolio of tenpin centres to nine with the acquisition of two sites from PB Leisure. The Bowl Xtra centres in Bishops Stortford and Chichester will both be renamed trader Newbury's Lakeside Superbowl...

Phelps named as buyer of Po Na Na in 7m [pounds sterling] deal.(Cinema & entertainment news)
September 1, 2003... Avanti Capital, an AIM-listed private equity group, is to acquire most of Po Na Na, at a cost of up to 7m[pounds sterling]. The group is backing David Phelps, the former commercial director of Po Na Na. Avanti, through buyout vehicle...

Music venue group up for sale.(Cinema & entertainment news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... McKenzie Group, which owns the Brixton Academy, Shepherds Bush Empire and three other live music venues, has been put up for sale, according to insiders. McKenzie was formed five years ago by the former boss of Break For The Border, Ion...

Carnegies to sell nightclub sites.(Cinema & entertainment news)(Carnegies )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The Glasgow leisure group Carnegies is selling the majority of its leisure estate and quitting the nightclub business. Carnegies is selling its Babylon nightclubs in Edinburgh, Ayr and Greenock, Mannequins in Paisley, Expo in Kilmarnock....

120m [pounds sterling] Bollywood-themed scheme moves ahead in North London.(Tourism & development news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... A proposed 120m[pounds sterling] Bollywood themed development for North London is stepping a gear with a renewed push in negotiations with potential operators of the leisure elements. Sharad Patel, the millionaire Asian film producer, was...

Parkdean releases upbeat trading update.(Tourism & development news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Parkdean Holidays, the operator of 14 holiday parks in the United Kingdom, released an update on trading following the key summer holiday season showing like-for-like holiday hire revenue in company-owned accommodation was up 14.3% on 2002. The...

Visit Scotland shows increase in tourism figures.(Tourism & development news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Scotland's tourism industry is on the up, with an increase last year in both visitors and the amount they spent, according to VisitScotland's annual report. There was a 5% rise in the number of visitors to Scotland in 2002, with an 8% rise...

More leisure for Wolves.(Tourism & development news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Increased leisure facilities lie at the heart of a 150m[pounds sterling] plan to rejuvenate Wolverhampton and reintroduce it as a major West Midlands city. The eight-acre development could feature a nightclub, ice rink, tenpin centre and...

Cardiff plans get go-ahead.(Tourism & development news)(Cardiff City Council)(Welsh Assembly )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Cardiff City Council and the Welsh Assembly have granted full planning permission for the development of a new stadium. The 160m[pounds sterling] sports, leisure, retail and residential scheme will centre around a 60,000 seat home for...

Budget brands are only UK bright spot.(Tourism & development news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Budget hotels are proving to be the one real bright spot in an otherwise depressed UK hotels sector, with the five big brands alone increasing room numbers by 4% last year. In fact budget hotel sites in the UK grew by 9% last year, despite...

Identify new opportunities in the budget hotel market!(Tourism & development news)(Book Review)
September 1, 2003... The Guide to Budget Hotel Brands offers an invaluable insight into how the ongoing success of budget brands has gone a long way in attracting new concepts and customers to the hotel market. This brand new industry resource contains detailed...

City Centre chief hails 'excellent' results.(Eating & drinking news)
September 1, 2003... City Centre Restaurants' executive chairman, Alan Jackson, hailed an "excellent" set of interim results, with overall pre-tax profit up 16% to 7m[pounds sterling]. The increasingly powerful Frankie and Penny's chain put in like-for-like...

Yo! Sushi MBO raises money for expansion.(Eating & drinking news)(Primary Capital )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Simon Woodroffe, the founder of Yo! Sushi, has sold his controlling stake in the company to Primary Capital as part of a 10m[pounds sterling] management buy-out. The money raised through the sale will be ploughed back into the business and...

Mugg & Bean coffee chain plans UK roll-out.(Eating & drinking news)(Mugg & Bean)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Mugg & Bean--the highly successful South African coffee-themed quick-casual restaurant chain--is coming to the United Kingdom. Shelly Sandzer, the hospitality specialist consultancy, is currently helping UK franchisee, Mugg & Bean UK, to...

Ask posts record figures, rolls out grill brand.(Eating & drinking news)
September 1, 2003... Ask Central, the pizza restaurant group, shrugged off continuing tough conditions in the London market to announce record results for the six months to 29 June. It also spoke for the first time about its plans for its third brand, a grill...

Europe-wide ban on smoking proposed for leisure and hospitality industry.(Industry news)
September 1, 2003... Smoking could be banned in all bars, cafes and restaurants in the European Union under legislation being developed by the European Commissioner for Health. The commissioner, Irishman David Byrne, wants to impose the ban as part of a wider...

Scots licensing laws to be overhauled.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Plans for the biggest overhaul of licensing laws in Scotland in 27 years have been published, promising to take a 'premises by premises' approach. The Nicholson Committee report, chaired by Sheriff Principal Gordon Nicholson, proposes a...

E&Y urges attractions to check VAT status.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Ernst & Young, the professional services firm, is urging cultural attraction operators to check their VAT payments, as they may qualify for refunds. A total of nine zoos, which took their claims for a refund on VAT paid on admission prices...

Tronc tax fight steps up a gear.(Industry news)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The British Hospitality Association is stepping up its campaign against the Inland Revenue's attempts to reclaim millions of pounds in National Insurance Contributions on tip payments. The BHA is working with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the...

Daring, different and indebted: Dominic Walsh from The Times looks into the topple of Topnotch, the health club operator.(Behind the headlines)
September 1, 2003... Matthew Harris, the founder of Topnotch Health Clubs, has blamed the collapse of his company on a number of different factors. "Banks will be banks," he told me just after the appointment of administrators had been announced. "But ultimately...

London calling: David Campbell is charged with promoting the capital. He explains how his media background will help.(Profile)(Visit London )
September 1, 2003... Hoteliers, tourism professionals, local authorities and government bodies--the job of chief executive of Visit London (the revamped London Tourist Board), involves working with all of these. It would be far from ideal, then, for anyone not keen...

Time to take the plunge? Does the trend for wellness mean the spa market will replicate the fitness sector?(Sector update--spas)(Serve Health & Beauty )
September 1, 2003... Spas used to be either an exotic pastime for an elitist crowd or somewhere for the elderly or sick to relax and recuperate. Times, however, have changed. A plethora of developments are bubbling away in the United Kingdom, bringing massmarket...

In or out? CEOs in the firing line: think again before calling for the CEO to go, says Egremont.(Business sense)
September 1, 2003... As share prices decline, it seems the great management trend of today is firing chief executives. A staggering 51% of global CEOs have held their positions for less than three years, 72% for less than five years and only 12% for 10 or more...

Leisure Report LR Index leisure stockwatch September 2003.(Sharewatch & dairy dates)
September 1, 2003... Chelsea Village is no longer in our selection after Roman Abramovich's much publicised purchase of the club went through. On a like-for-like basis, the overall average share price slipped slightly, down 1.1%, despite a number of bright...

Diary dates.(Sharewatch & diary dates)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
September 1, 2003... October Event IHRSA's 3rd Annual European Congress Date 2-4 Location London Hilton, Park Lane Description The International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association's European industry event Contact www.ihrsa.org ...