The numbers don’t quite add up for Mecca owner

0 Venue closures and competitor openings hit sales, but Rank is putting its hope in digital Mecca Bingo operator Rank Group has unveiled falling full-year profits in a tough UK market.

Rank said pre-tax profits fell 7 per cent to £79.7m and revenues slipped to £707m from £709minthe12monthstoendjune.

The Mecca venues saw “reduced visits”, with revenue dipping 4 per cent over the year and operating profit slipping 9 per cent.

At Rank’s Grosvenor casinos division, revenue fell 3 per cent and operating profit dropped 14 per cent. The company partly blamed “macro-economic conditions” and venue closures.

But Rank chief executive Henry Birch was cheered by the company’s digital performance, with profits up 63 per cent. He said that after a “challenging first half” the company was placing hope in “digital, product and venuebased initiatives launching in the current financial year”.

Last year Rank pulled out of a joint bid with 888 for rival William Hill.