Bingo! Mecca posts 14% profit rise

Mecca Bingo's parent, Rank Group, posted a 14 per cent hike in annual pre-tax profits to £55.2 million and said momentum continued into 2011 despite being hit by higher taxes and Spain's smoking ban.

Like-for-like revenues were up 2 per cent in the first eight weeks of the new year as resurgent bingo offset more difficult trading for Grosvenor Casinos and its Spanish arm.

The 1 January smoking ban in Spain sent Top Rank Espaa revenues plunging 18 per cent since the year-end and Rank expects turnover from the division to fall by up to 10 per cent this year.