LEISURE group Rank pledged to invest more than £1m in its Yorkshire operations as it posted a 14% rise in annual profits.
The owner of Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos topped market expectations with pre-tax profits of £55.2m against £48.5m for the previous 12 months.
The group, which has a bingo and casino complex at Folly Hall, lifted like-for-like revenues by 2% in the first eight weeks of the new year. Online gaming sales were up by 25%.
However, the introduction of a smoking ban in Spain from January 1 sent revenues at the group’s Top Rank Espana chain plunging by 18% since the year-end.
Rank now expects turnover from the division to fall by up to 10% this year.
Grosvenor Casinos also suffered as punters in London came away with more winnings since the new year – sending revenues down by 6% despite a 16% rise in the number of visits.
Mecca notched up an 8% rise in revenues thanks in part to weak comparatives caused by last year’s January snows.
Yorkshire will share in a £100m investment programme. Rank said it plans to invest £1.1m in the region this year – with plans for new-look Mecca Bingo clubs in Hull and Scarborough and the revamp of Grosvenor Casino in Merrion Way, Leeds.
Rank invested £1m in the region last year by redeveloping the Mecca Bingo club in Flat Street, Sheffield, and opening a new casino in Scarborough.
Commenting on the results, Rank chief executive Ian Burke said: “The consumer environment remains challenging with higher sales taxes in both Britain and Spain, as well as the introduction of a full smoking ban in Spain.
“Nevertheless, the group has started the year well with growth in like-for-like revenue and increases in customer visits in our two largest businesses, Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo.”
Rank saw the number of visits to Mecca bingo halls increase for the first time in more than a decade in the first half of 2010 as it began rebranding sites under its new Full House format in order to attract a younger crowd.
This saw sales of food and drink rise by 11.2% in 2010.
