Revenues rise as Rank enjoys strong start to its year

As well as bingo clubs in Bilston, Brierley Hill, Oldbury, Wednesbury and West Bromwich the company has casinos in Walsall and Birmingham.

Chief executive Henry Birch said: "The group has had a good start to the financial year. We are seeing a continued strong performance from our Grosvenor Casinos brand, particularly in its digital channel and London casinos, as well as an improving admissions trend in our Mecca venues combined with good growth in Mecca's digital business.

"We continue to work on our five strategic priorities, particularly the development of our new digital platform which is on track to be launched in calendar Q1 2016 and we will provide a more detailed update at our forthcoming interim results in January 2016."

At its Grosvenor Casinos arm revenue growth has been driven by a combination of increased admissions, staking levels and an improved win margin.

London has seen strong growth in revenue, up 19% compared to 6% in the provinces. VIP activity in London has helped drive a strong win margin in the period, up by over two percentage points on last year's equivalent win margin.

At the same time there was 'good growth' in its provincial clubs, including sites in with increased staking levels and good slots growth driving a 6% increase in revenue.

The casino arms digital revenues surged by 56%, boosted by strong growth from mobile products.

At Mecca Bingo an increase in spend per visit was offset by a reduction in customer visits, although the rate of decline in admissions has continued to slow. Total revenues fell by 2% following the closure of a number of clubs in the last 12 months.

Digital revenues in the 15-week period rose by 10%, with mobile accounting for over 50% of revenue in recent months.