The Rank Group Plc (LON: RNK), operator of Mecca bingo halls and Grosvenor casinos, saw its shares jump after reporting FY2025/26 results showing underlying operating profit up 21% to £78.6m for the year to 30 June 2026. Statutory operating profit, a separate measure, actually fell 7% to £55.7m, dragged down by one-off items including a £6.5m Spanish payment-fraud loss, a £5m Gambling Commission charge, and restructuring costs tied to venue closures.
Shares closed yesterday at 105.8p, up 6% from Wednesday’s close of 99.8p, on volume of roughly 2.16 million shares, well above the stock’s typical daily range of 200,000 to 800,000. The stock remains well below its 52-week high of 141.45p, having traded as low as 85.56p over the past year.
The results, published yesterday, were the first delivered by Richard Harris as permanent chief executive. Underlying EBITDA, a measure of operating cash profit, rose 15% to £138.3m, while group underlying like-for-like net gaming revenue climbed 6% to £834.1m.
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The underlying growth was broad-based. Mecca’s bingo venues saw underlying operating profit surge 107% to £8.9m from £4.3m, partly reflecting the abolition of UK bingo duty, while Grosvenor’s casinos grew profit 11% to £35.5m and Spanish arm Enracha posted a record £12m, up 8%. Rank also completed a debt refinancing in June, replacing its facility with a new four-year £120m revolving credit line, leaving net debt at £147.2m.
Harris used the results to warn publicly against further UK gambling tax increases. “Tax increases for clubs like ours, with high levels of supervision and operating on tight margins, will swiftly lead to lower tax receipts as much-loved bingo halls and casinos will be forced to close, impacting customers in local communities,” he said.
Rank reiterated a medium-term target of at least £100m in underlying operating profit but flagged that digital profitability will step down in FY2026/27, a caution that tempers yesterday’s gain against the stock’s distance from its 52-week high.
