SMOKING BAN CONTINUES TO HIT RANK
Leisure group Rank is bracing itself for the introduction of the
smoking ban in England and Wales after sales continued to slide
north of the border.
Like-for-like sales at its Mecca Bingo Clubs in Scotland had
fallen 15% since smoking was banned in public places.
Overall pre-tax profit at the group fell to á¸44.4m in 2006,
down 13.7% from á¸50.5m a year earlier.
Rank said its main focus was preparing for the ban, which begins
in Wales on 2 April and in England on 1 July.
