Rank boss raises stake

Rank Group's chief executive Ian Burke more than doubled his stake in the casino and bingo hall operator, despite sounding a cautious note on the firm's prospects last month.

He bought 85,000 shares at 59.75p a time, or a total of about £50,000, and now has around 160,500 in the firm, which owns Mecca bingo halls and Grosvenor Casinos.

In s statement accompanying Rank's full-year results on February 26, Burke said that the company's near-term outlook 'remains clouded by economic uncertainty.'

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The firm's adjusted profit before tax in 2008 slipped to £40.5m from £46.2m the previous year on revenues that fell to £522.2m from £534.4m.

While cautious in the short-term, Burke was bullish on the general state of the company.

"2008 was a year of stabilisation for Rank, following a period of significant upheaval in the gaming industry in 2007," he said.

"The group ended 2008 in significantly better shape than it had started the year," he said.

"We steadied average weekly revenues, realised significant cost savings across the group, exited our final salary pension plan and achieved a substantial reduction in net debt."

The introduction of the indoor smoking ban in England on July 1, 2007 hit Rank at a time when it also faced problems arising from gambling regulations.

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