Shares in Rank group (LON: RNK) tumbled 15 percent to a three-year low following a profit warning on Thursday.
The leisure group announced profits of £77 million, as opposed to the analyst expectations of £83 million.
“The board is cautious about the UK consumer outlook and as a result expects venues to continue to be impacted for the remainder of the 2017-18 financial year and into 2018-19,” said the Rank.
The group have blamed poor weather for the falling number of visitors in Mecca bingo halls, which declined by two percent in the 13 weeks to 1 April. Visiting numbers have fallen by nine percent at Grosvenor Casinos.
Revenues at the group’s digital business did better and the group saw a 17 percent rise over the period.
“Both UK venues businesses have been impacted by weaker than expected visits which have been compounded by two periods of cold weather. Grosvenor Casinos’ underperformance has also been exacerbated by a negative contribution from its VIP players,” said Rank.
Rank group are hoping to counter the recent decline in consumer spending and launched a high street bingo chain called Luda. Luda, which is also a coffee shop and bar, is aimed at a younger audience and has three branches with mixed results.
The poor results for the group come at a difficult time. The chief executive, Henry Birch, announced last month he was leaving Rank to run the online retailer Shop Direct.
The decline in consumer spending has hit the high street this year, also affecting the restaurant sector. Restaurant chains including Jamie’s Italian and Prezzo have axed a large number of stores.
Shares in Rank closed at 180 pence on Thursday – the lowest since February 2015.
