The Rank Group
Encyclopedia
The Rank Group plc is a European gaming
and leisure business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
.
which itself was formed out of the business interests of its founder, J. Arthur Rank
.
Until the start of the 21st century, the group still had a tremendous amount of leisure holdings; however, as the decade progressed they sold their interests in Pinewood Studios
and the Odeon
cinema chain. It also divested itself of its engineering companies such as its share in Rank Xerox, selling Rank Leisure Machine Services to Gametec plus all its Butlins
, Warner and Haven Holidays
holiday and recreation facilities, which were all sold to Bourne Leisure
. They then sold off their nightclub division Rank Entertainment as well as their share of interest in Universal Studios Florida and disposed of their vast Rank film library to Carlton Communications with whom they'd recently also sold their Rank Advertising Film Division.
In December 2005, as Rank sold Deluxe Film (formerly Rank Film Laboritories) for £400m, it effectively ended their sixty year association with the film and cinema business. This meant Rank Leisure had become focussed on their gaming operations with their remaining businesses interests concentrating on Grosvenor and G Casinos, Top Rank and Mecca Clubs, and online gaming through Rank Interactive after the company acquired the Blue Square gaming business in 2003.
Finally leaving all non-gaming leisure behind, in December 2006, Rank sold the Hard Rock business, excluding the London casino venue which was rebranded to a G casino, to the Seminole Tribe of Florida for US$965 million.
, slots
and online poker
.
In 2001 and 2002 Blue Square opened a betting market on races involving snails, hamsters and alligators.
Since the start of the 2007–08 football season, Blue Square has sponsored the Football Conference
, the highest level of non-league football in England
.
s located in major towns and cities across the UK with two sister casinos located in Belgium
.
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
and leisure business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index
FTSE 250 Index
The FTSE 250 Index is a capitalisation-weighted index consisting of the 101st to the 350th largest companies on the London Stock Exchange. Promotions to and demotions from the index take place quarterly in March, June, September and December...
.
History
The company was formed to acquire the business interests of the Rank OrganisationRank Organisation
The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment company formed during 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. It was the largest and most vertically-integrated film company in Britain, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities....
which itself was formed out of the business interests of its founder, J. Arthur Rank
J. Arthur Rank
Joseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank was a British industrialist and film producer, and founder of the Rank Organisation, now known as The Rank Group Plc.- Family business :...
.
Until the start of the 21st century, the group still had a tremendous amount of leisure holdings; however, as the decade progressed they sold their interests in Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
and the Odeon
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
cinema chain. It also divested itself of its engineering companies such as its share in Rank Xerox, selling Rank Leisure Machine Services to Gametec plus all its Butlins
Butlins
Butlins is a chain of large holiday camps in the United Kingdom. Butlins was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families....
, Warner and Haven Holidays
Haven & British Holidays
Haven Leisure Limited is a company that operates 35 holiday parks in the United Kingdom. The current company was created as Haven & British Holidays in 2004, following the amalgamation of the British Holidays chain with the Haven Holidays chain, which British Holidays' parent company, Bourne...
holiday and recreation facilities, which were all sold to Bourne Leisure
Bourne Leisure
Bourne Leisure Holdings Limited is a British private company which owns a number of subsidiary undertakings operating in the leisure and holiday sectors in the United Kingdom....
. They then sold off their nightclub division Rank Entertainment as well as their share of interest in Universal Studios Florida and disposed of their vast Rank film library to Carlton Communications with whom they'd recently also sold their Rank Advertising Film Division.
In December 2005, as Rank sold Deluxe Film (formerly Rank Film Laboritories) for £400m, it effectively ended their sixty year association with the film and cinema business. This meant Rank Leisure had become focussed on their gaming operations with their remaining businesses interests concentrating on Grosvenor and G Casinos, Top Rank and Mecca Clubs, and online gaming through Rank Interactive after the company acquired the Blue Square gaming business in 2003.
Finally leaving all non-gaming leisure behind, in December 2006, Rank sold the Hard Rock business, excluding the London casino venue which was rebranded to a G casino, to the Seminole Tribe of Florida for US$965 million.
Mecca
Mecca is a UK-based social and bingo club leisure company, with sites located across the UK in most major towns and cities. The company also operates Meccabingo.com and Meccagames.com as an extension of the Mecca Bingo brand.Blue Square
Blue Square is Rank's interactive gaming business launched on 5 May 1999. Originally a traditional bookmaking business, Blue Square's services now include an online casinoOnline casino
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet....
, slots
Slots
Slots may refer to:* Jørgen Slots, a leading Danish periodontist currently on faculty at USC Dental School* Slot machine* Leading edge slots aerodynamic devices on an aircraft leading edgeFor further meanings see slot...
and online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
.
In 2001 and 2002 Blue Square opened a betting market on races involving snails, hamsters and alligators.
Since the start of the 2007–08 football season, Blue Square has sponsored the Football Conference
Football Conference
The Football Conference is a football league in England which consists of three divisions called Conference National, Conference North, and Conference South. Some Football Conference clubs are fully professional, such as Luton Town, but most of them are semi-professional...
, the highest level of non-league football in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Grosvenor Casinos
Grosvenor Casinos (formerly Soames Casino) is a UK-based chain of over thirty casinoCasino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s located in major towns and cities across the UK with two sister casinos located in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.