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Commercial news
Cineworld Group is to complete its digital
roll-out across the UK and Ireland by the
end of the summer 2012, with more than
75 per cent of its estate currently using
digital projectors.
The news comes as the group revealed
it had become the number one cinema
operator in 2011, with revenues and pretax
profits increasing by 1.5 per cent and 9.9
per cent respectively. Admissions across the
Cineworld estate were up 2.3 per cent when
compared with 2010 to 48.3m, while box
office sales grew by 2.7 per cent to £242m.
Details: http://lei.sra=L7X8H
Rank Group owns and operates Mecca Bingo
Rank Group, the owner of the Grosvenor
Casinos and Mecca Bingo brands, has
terminated discussions over the possible
acquisition of Gala Coral Group’s casino
arm. Earlier this year, Rank announced it
had entered into talks over the purchase of
Gala Coral’s 24 Gala Casinos across the UK
in a deal worth around £250m.
However, Rank said that it had ended
discussions “after it became clear that the
proposed terms of the acquisition would
not serve the best interest of Rank’s shareholders”.
Details: http://lei.sra=D4D9O
A charity and a grant scheme are to be
established in order to distribute the £90m
allocated to the racing industry following
last year’s sale of the Horserace Totalisator
Board (Tote). John Penrose, minister
with responsibility for horseracing, has
announced plans which he said are “making
good” on a pledge made with regards
to proceeds from the £265m deal.
The charity – The Racing Foundation –
will support good causes, while the grant
scheme aims to benefit State Aid-compliant
projects. Details: http://lei.sra=f5u2k
A new casino to be developed
in Milton Keynes will be
operated by Aspers after the
group was announced as the
successful applicant by Milton
Keynes Council (MKC).
The award means that
Aspers can now apply for a
large casino licence, with the
proposed venue to deliver a
£10m investment within the
existing Xscape complex.
Gaming tables and
machines will form part of the
casino, along with entertainment,
dining and bars. MKC
will receive at least £500,000
per year for the entire lifespan
of the facility. The council’s licensing sub-committee
resolved to grant Aspers the provisional
statement after the group’s bid was judged to
offer the “best all round package”.
“It will provide not only a new, completely
different, yet responsibly managed, kind of
Daily discount voucher company
Groupon has been found
to be breaking UK consumer
rules and has been given
three months to change and
improve its practices.
The Office of Fair Trading
(OFT) found “widespread
examples” where Groupon
was seen to breach consumer
protection regulations.
Announcing the findings
of its investigation on 16
March, the OFT said that it
has specific concerns over practices involving
reference pricing, advertising, refunds,
unfair terms, and the diligence of its interactions
with merchants. A July deadline has
now been imposed by the OFT for Groupon to
changes its practices to comply with UK law.
OFT has not yet ruled out the possibility of
legal action against Groupon.
Goals Soccer Centres, the five-a-side football
facility operator, has revealed that it is the subject
of a takeover approach from Canada-based
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
In response to media speculation, the group
said it had received a preliminary approach
Aspers held off competition from two other bidders for the MK site
leisure facility for Milton Keynes, but numerous
associated facilities and benefits for the
local community,” said a council spokesperson.
“This outcome has been the result of two years’
work by a small team of council officers and
advisers.” Details: http://lei.sra=w9b5x
The OFT made a series of recommendations to Groupon in its findings
Groupon responded to the news with a
lengthy statement on the company blog, admitting
the breaches and apologising to customers
who had “experienced the negative side effects”
of the company’s growth. The statement also
lists each OFT point of concern and how
Groupon plans to rectify the issues.
Read more: http://lei.sra=a1g3D
from the pension fund but could not confirm
an offer would be submitted.
The announcement comes just over a month
after Goals Soccer Centres reported a “year of
progress and change” in 2011.
Details: http://lei.sra=U2m0y
image: 18percentgrey/shutterstock image: juan camilo bernal/shutterstock.com
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Read Leisure Management online leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital ISSUE 2 2012 © cybertrek 2011