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Praesepe plc Report and Accounts 2009
The Praesepe plc Report and Accounts 2009 is now...
Completion of Acquisition of Beacon Entertainments Ltd
Praesepe plc ("Praesepe" or "the...Bulletin Box With the season now in full swing I am very pleased with our four FECs (at Weston, Burnham on Sea and Ilfracombe). All four venues have been reequipped with particular emphasis on children’s ‘ticket redemption’ prize machines and these are proving a big hit with the holiday makers. At our inland AGC venues Steve Lawrence and his new Operations team are now getting up into top gear on all fronts and again this is having a very positive effect on the business. Similarly Kevin Hamilton and his Beacon Bingo team are producing some great results, not only at the Club venues but also in terms of our on-line ‘BeaconBingo on-line’ web site. When we bought Beacon we were confident that we would be able to identify considerable synergies between the two businesses and this has been the case. Les Brydon, one of my former Regional Directors from Talarius has been working with us on a consultancy basis, spearheading the integration of the two businesses and this initiative is going well. When we purchased Beacon there was a live deal to sell the Streatham Bingo club to a private operator. Having reviewed the club and its potential we decided to abort this deal and we are now working hard to breathe new life into the business in Streatham and to allow the Club to reach its potential earnings targets. This is starting to come through now and the venue will now make a serious contribution to group EBITDA. Nick Harding August 2010 |
Cashino brand grows as Praesepe acquires six AGC's
The development of the Cashino brand of Adult Gaming Centres has taken a further step forward with the announcement that parent company Praesepe plc had added six sites through the acquisition of the entire share capital of Issue Depth Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary, Classic Leisure (Northern) Limited for a total consideration of circa £1.5 million, excluding fees.The sites are located in two clusters in the North East and North West of England. The acquired sites generated revenue of £1.4 million and underlying EBITDA of £0.3 million in the year to 31 July 2008. The net assets of the acquired business as at 31 July 2008 amounted to £0.5 million. The acquired sites provide Praesepe with approximately 260 gaming machines across locations that enjoy a strong competitive market position and will add scale to the Group’s existing operations. Further investment will take place for site rebranding and refurbishment in line with the market leading standards established by Cashino and the installation of new gaming machines which will take place over the remainder of the calendar year. In their announcement to the City, Praesepe confirmed that management will ensure that local staff are appropriately re-engaged into the business and incentivised, and will introduce the relevant operational initiatives which have improved the operating performance at the Cashino business. The company added that further improvement in the financial performance is expected through the provision of an experienced management team to the sites and the opportunity to introduce new machines following the increase in stakes and prizes due to come into effect later this month. Nick Harding, CEO of Praesepe, said: “The sites fit nicely into our Cashino estate and will begin contributing immediately to the bottom line. There is also significant scope for operational development and revenue growth as we upgrade the machine estate to take advantage of the anticipated increase in Category C stakes and prizes. As we continue to successfully integrate new sites like this into our Cashino estate we are increasingly able to leverage our central fixed cost base to provide greater returns on capital. When viewed in conjunction with our new openings on greenfield sites, this acquisition means that we have increased the number of Cashino venues by 30 per cent since making our first acquisition last year. “There is no doubt that the success of any low stake high volume gaming business is greatly dependent on scale and critical mass. As the market matures, the larger operators will attract and retain a greater proportion of new customers with their ability to sustain significant capital expenditure programmes, promote a common brand across a number of platforms, develop brand loyalty and acquire the latest technology direct from manufacturers. This acquisition is the next step in the implementation of the company’s strategy.” |
six_agc_acq_pr2 (PDF file)Site last updated on: 25th June 2010
