Bingo giant takes hit from rising employment costs Leisure The country’s biggest bingo hall operator has hit out at the “significant” hikes to employment costs which dragged down its earnings despite surging Gen-Z interest in the pastime. Buzz Bingo, formerly Gala, blamed recent increases in employer national insurance contributions (NICs) and the minimum wage for its six per cent dip in underlying earnings, to [...]
Ari Emmanuel snaps up West End theatre group ATG for £4.5bn Hospitality Hollywood tycoon Ari Emmanuel has snapped up the theatre group behind West End venues including the Savoy and the Ambassadors in a deal worth around £4.5bn. Emmanuel, who runs an A-list media agency and helms the group which owns UFC, said the deal underscores the “growing power of live experience and the passionate audiences it [...]
Peak chicken? Domino’s hatches plan to swoop into fried chicken market Retail Months after parting ways with the chief executive whose bet on chicken caused a flutter, Domino’s Pizza has led a charge back into the henhouse. Andrew Rennie, the pizza delivery giant’s former boss, caused a flap last November when he defended a novel expansion into fried chicken by declaring that British consumers were nearing so-called [...]
Hollywood Bowl strikes share boom to defy consumer spending fears May 27, 2026 Hollywood Bowl shares have rocketed after the firm said Brits are prioritising nights out to the bowling alley over going shopping as they cut down on non-essential spending. The UK’s largest tenpin bowling operator said it has seen a “robust” performance even as consumer confidence plummets amid the Iran war, sending its share price up [...]
Cinema chain Vue eyes blockbuster £1.5bn sale or listing May 6, 2026 Vue is bringing in bankers to oversee a float or sale which could value the cinema titan at as much as £1.5bn, according to reports. The British cinema chain, helmed by Canadian founder Tim Richards, has been interviewing banks in recent days as it pencils in the formal appointment of advisors later this year. Vue [...]
Mayfair-based The Arts Club plunges to £4m loss after wellness venture sours January 14, 2026 One of the swankiest private members clubs in central London has bemoaned a “challenging economic backdrop” after it suffered a loss of nearly £4m. Mayfair-based The Arts Club, which was founded in the 1860s by Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope and has been frequented by the likes of Beyoncé, Jessie J and Pippa Middleton, incurred [...]
Luxury gym Third Space sees profit double after membership surge September 16, 2025 Third Space has reported a more than doubling of profits after an expansion in venues helped drive a surge in memberships. The London-based luxury gym club, which operates more than a dozen sites across the capital, posted a 115 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £11.1m in 2024, accounts published to Companies House show. [...]
The View from The Shard makes first profit since 2019 September 3, 2025 The business behind the viewing gallery at The Shard has returned to profit for the first time since 2019, it has been revealed. The London attraction has posted a pre-tax profit of £1.6m for 2024 after having fallen to a pre-tax loss of £678,839 in the prior 12 months. The late total comes after the [...]
Zip World: Losses revealed ahead of £100m takeover July 15, 2025 Adventure park operator Zip World fell into the red before being acquired by a private equity firm in a deal worth £100m, it has been revealed. In January, City AM reported that the Wales-headquartered company had become the latest investment for Dolphin Capital. The firm currently runs eight sites in Wales, Manchester, Cumbria and London [...]
Drayton Manor: Profit continues to slide as wet summer hits theme park February 21, 2025 Profit at Drayton Manor has fallen for a fourth year in a row since the theme park was rescued out of administration as wet weather continued to suppress sales. The Staffordshire-based attraction has reported a pre-tax profit of £1.2m for the year to 30 September, 2024, down from the £2m it posted for the prior [...]