Wheel of fortune favours Rank with £205m casino deal

Mecca Bingo owner Rank yesterday unveiled a £205 million deal with Gala Coral to become the UK’s biggest casino operator.

The proposed acquisition of Gala’s 23 casinos will give Rank’s Grosvenor division 58 UK sites – leap-frogging Malaysian firm Genting, which has 45.

The sale of the casinos will allow Gala Coral to concentrate on its Gala bingo unit and Coral bookmaking division – which is run by former HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby – as well as strengthen its finances amid a net debt figure of £1.3 billion at the end of 2011.

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Gala Coral has been seen as ripe for a break-up since a big debt restructuring in 2010 saw many lenders left with shares in the company, fuelling speculation that Rank would look to buy the casinos.

Rank is listed in London but is majority-owned by Guoco, the investment vehicle of Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan. The business has more than 100 bingo clubs under the Mecca brand and owns the Bluesq sports betting business.

Rank is paying an initial £182.5m for the Gala casinos with the rest paid in stages until 2015 when certain conditions are met. The deal does not include Gala’s casino in Dundee.

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