Stanley Leisure takes £100m gamble on revamping casinos

Published on Monday 18 July 2005 12:12

STANLEY Leisure, the British gambling group, today outlined plans to invest more than £100 million over the next five years on revamping its casinos.

The group, whose 41-strong casino portfolio includes three venues in Edinburgh, is making the investment to cash in on the relaxation of UK gaming laws.

Money will be targeted at raising the number of slot machines in its four London casinos and 37 regional casinos as well as refurbishing a number of sites.

Details emerged as Stanley, which agreed to sell off its betting shops to William Hill in May for 504m, posted a four per cent fall in pre-tax profits before goodwill amortisation of 40.1m during the year to May 1. Chief executive Bob Wiper said: "In aggregate these plans could add over 50 per cent to the size of our gaming floor space over the next five years."

Stanley will return 325m to shareholders - equivalent to 250 pence a share - once the deal with William Hill is completed.

Buying the betting shops ensured William Hill leapfrogged Ladbrokes as the UK's biggest bookmaker. Profits from Stanley's casinos increased 30 per cent during the year under review to 33.7m and the group said its new financial year had begun "satisfactorily".

Giving his response to deregulation in the gaming industry, Mr Wiper said the final shape of the Gambling Act 2005 "was not what any of us expected" and a long way from the free market that was initially recommended. But it contained a number of positive points including changes to membership rules, increased stake levels and more slot machines.

"We are making plans to capture the benefits of the relaxation of the membership and marketing rules as soon as the new Act is implemented," Mr Wiper added.