Half Year Losses For Rank Group Of Nearly £42 Million

Grosvenor casinos and Mecca bingo owner the Rank Group have released their half yearly results ending 31^st December showing a loss of £41.8 million for the 6 month period.

The company that operates the largest casino portfolio in the UK said it had been severely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has seen the operator having to close its doors due to government restrictions since March last year, with periods of limited opening in between.

Chief executive of The Rank Group, John O’Reilly, said: “There is no doubt that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been far beyond anything we or any other leisure operator could have imagined or planned for. The ever-changing restrictions coupled with curfews, which in particular have a seismic impact on our Grosvenor venues, have resulted in an exceptionally challenging first half for the group.

“I have remained incredibly impressed with our teams who have displayed high levels of professionalism and adaptability under the continuously changing circumstances.

“Despite the difficulties we are facing, they have continued, through a range of initiatives, to help our local communities, front line workers and those who are vulnerable.

“We have taken a stringent approach in applying affordability restrictions, particularly on higher staking customers, which has impacted revenues in our UK facing digital business in the half. We have been making good progress in the development of our proprietary technology platform to prepare the digital business for its exciting future.

“Once we have successfully completed the migrations of Mecca and Grosvenor, our in-house technology and development capability will give us much greater agility and speed in delivering developments, providing the group with a platform for growth both in the UK and internationally.”

O’Reilly went on to say: “There continues to be uncertainty looking ahead, particularly as our venues remain closed and we have no firm guidance as to when we will be able to reopen.

“We remain focused on managing our liquidity position and, following the successful £70m equity placing in November 2020, combined with the support of our lending banks, I believe we have the balance sheet strength to survive an extended period of closure.

“We are now focusing on delivering the next stage of our transformation plan and are ready to reopen our venues when the virus is under control and the vaccine roll-out has achieved its purpose.”