Grosvenor Casinos owner reports £72m loss after "rotten year"

A UK gambling group has reported a £72m loss after spending more than half of the year closed due to lockdowns.

Rank Group, which owns Grosvenor Casinos, Mecca and Enracha, saw a drop in profits from £9.4m last year to a loss of £72m in the six months to the end of June.

It also saw net gaming revenues fall by 48 per cent to £329.6m, with the company losing an average of £15m per month while its venues were closed.

John O’Reilly, chief executive of Rank, commented: “It’s been a rotten year […] But we’ve navigated our way through the pandemic well.

“Since opening in May we’re really pleased with the progress we’re making in all three businesses.

“We’ve got a strong balance sheet now as we re-emerge and we’ve been using the downtime to ensure that we do emerge from this strongly. Recovery is coming.”