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Leisure - 1997

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1997

1996


Starwood Lodging Trust, the US hotels group, has bought Turnberry Hotel Golf Courses and Spa in Scotland from Nitto Kogyo for £32m.
27-Dec-1997


First Call, the ticketing agency, has accepted a £7.3m takeover offer from KanDo, a subsidiary of Loyalty Management Holdings.
24-Dec-1997


European Leisure has sold Maygay, the gaming machine manufacturer, back to its original owner for £16.5m.
24-Dec-1997


Thomson has acquired Fritidsresor, the Swedish tour operator, for $425m as part of its strategy to build an international business.
20-Dec-1997


Lonsdale Holdings has acquired Belgo, the London restaurant group, for £9.8m, and will change its name to Belgo Group.
18-Dec-1997


The government has selected Sheffield as the site for the proposed national sports academy, which will create 1,000 permanent jobs.
17-Dec-1997


Bass is selling 1,190 leased pubs and 238 managed pubs to a management buy-in team for £564m, and now has at least £1.5bn to spend on acquisitions.
17-Dec-1997


Bass has sold its Gala bingo chain to a management buy-in for £279m, and the plan is to float the business within five years.
16-Dec-1997


Whitbread Inns is to invest over £1m a week on the expansion of its Hogshead alehouse chain next year, adding another 40 outlets to the current 123.
01-Dec-1997


Vardon has sold its bingo division to a management buy-out for £30m, which will allow it to expand its health and fitness operations.
27-Nov-1997


Avebury Inns, a new company with financial backing from Daiwa Europe, is planning to acquire 147 pubs from Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries for £16.4m, and hopes to follow this up with the purchase of more pub groups.
21-Oct-1997


MWB Leisure Fund has bought the Bentley Bridge Leisure Park in Wolverhampton for £17.3m, and is now said to be the UK's largest owner of leisure parks.
21-Oct-1997


Crystal Holidays, the holiday operator, has been acquired by a management team backed by BZW Private Equity, in a £150m deal.
17-Oct-1997


Brent Walker is selling the William Hill betting shop chain to Nomura of Japan for £700m, and will now put itself into liquidation as William Hill was its last big asset.
11-Oct-1997


Hambros has acquired Blue Green, the French-based golf course owner, through its HEV venture capital operation for £13.6m.
07-Oct-1997


Airtours is acquiring Sun International, the Belgian package holiday company which owns the Cresta Travel and Bridge Travel brands in the UK, for £70m.
02-Oct-1997


Soccer Investments is to acquire Leicester City football club for £24m, and will change its name to Leicester City.
30-Sep-1997


Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, is acquiring Inntrepreneur Pub Company, the joint venture between Grand Metropolitan and Foster's, and the Spring Inns chain, for £1.2bn.
22-Sep-1997


Virgin Group has bought out most of its joint venture partners to create a new Virgin Entertainment Group, and now plans to develop its music megastores in the US and open 15 new UK cinemas over the next two years.
17-Sep-1997


Capital Corporation has acquired the Cromwell Mint casino in South Kensington for £25m, and will take the business upmarket.
04-Sep-1997


Thomas Cook is to set up a telephone call-centre in Falkirk to take holiday bookings, initially employing 150 staff.
14-Aug-1997


Carlson Companies, the US-based owner of the AT Mays travel agents chain, is to acquire Inspirations, the UK package holiday group, for £42m, and has ambitious plans for further growth and acquisitions in the UK.
25-Jul-1997


Ladbroke is acquiring Colorado Gaming and Entertainment, which runs three casinos in Denver, for £21m, as part of its strategy to build up its US gaming business.
22-Jul-1997


Barr & Wallace Arnold Trust has sold its leisure division, which includes a major coach holiday business, to a management buy-out for £42m.
19-Jul-1997


Allied Domecq is planning a £150m investment in its pub estate, including 50 new Big Steak pubs alongside Wacky Warehouses and 50 Firkin pubs, creating over 2,000 jobs.
10-Jul-1997


Warner Village is to build four multiplex cinemas in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Kilmarnock at a cost of £40m, creating 500 jobs.
08-Jul-1997


Barr & Wallace Arnold Trust is selling its leisure division to a management buy-out for £40m.
04-Jul-1997


First Leisure is acquiring Riverside, the chain of three tennis and fitness clubs and two Espree gym clubs in London, for £61m.
31-May-1997


Whitbread is planning to set up a further 250 pubs, restaurants, and hotels, in a major expansion for its main chains, creating 5,000 jobs.
08-May-1997


Surrey Free Inns is acquiring Richardsons Inns, the owner of pubs and bars around London, for £11m.
29-Apr-1997


Enterprise Inns is acquiring Discovery Inns, the operator of over 200 pubs, for £46m.
24-Apr-1997


Rank Group is planning a £1.5bn expansion of its leisure division over the next five years, including new bingo clubs, bars, nightclubs and Odeon cinemas.
04-Apr-1997


JD Wetherspoon is planning to open 350 new pubs over the next 5 years in a £350m expansion plan which will create 10,000 jobs.
02-Apr-1997


Wiggins Group is acquiring Tomorrows Leisure, the hotels and leisure management concern, for about £15m.
05-Mar-1997


Calvin's Barbecue of the US is planning to set up a chain of 100 fast food outlets across the Midlands, offering chicken, fish and pork, in a move which will create an initial 500 jobs.
21-Feb-1997


Investcorp of Bahrain has acquired the Welcome Break motorway service centre chain from Granada for £473m, and now plans to expand the chain into other service areas and abroad.
19-Feb-1997


Rank Group is to open a £100m Oasis Forest Holiday Village in Cumbria in May, creating up to 900 jobs.
17-Feb-1997


Ladbroke has acquired AR Dennis, the chain of 114 betting shops in the south-east, for £31m.
04-Feb-1997


Morland, the brewer, has acquired 16 pubs from Whitbread for £3.4m and 24 American-style bar diners from Allied Domecq for £32m.
24-Jan-1997