Rank Group NGR up 5% as CEO urges caution on machine tax

Rank Group has posted a 5% increase in net gaming revenue for the first quarter of its 2026-27 financial year, reaching £216.1m in the three months to 30 September, the operator told EGR.

Grosvenor venues accounted for the largest share of revenue at £108.1m, while digital operations brought in £64.9m, up 6% year on year. Mecca bingo venues held flat at £32.2m, and the group's Spanish land-based arm, Enracha, grew 7% to £10.9m.

Management pointed to a strong showing from its established digital customer base, with Mecca's online revenue alone climbing 7%. The quarter was the first full period in which Rank operated under the UK's 40% remote gaming duty, introduced on 1 April.

The Maidenhead-based company said its UK business had shown steady customer activity despite the heavier tax burden and a pullback in above-the-line marketing, adding that balancing marketing spend against the customer offer remained central to its strategy as the digital market continues to shift.

On the retail side, Grosvenor recorded a 5% rise in spend per visit, though three sites — in Swansea, Reading and Sunderland — were shut after being judged unviable over the medium term. At Mecca, flat revenue reflected a 3% drop in footfall, which the company attributed to an extended spell of hot weather, even as spend per visit rose 3%.

Rank has not issued financial guidance for the rest of the year but said it was confident of meeting market expectations for like-for-like operating profit, based on the tax rules currently in force.

Harris said he was encouraged by the quarter's revenue growth, singling out continued improvement in gaming machine performance at Grosvenor and the resilience of the UK digital arm.

He also said uncertainty over the coming Autumn Budget, due on 28 October, had been weighing on investor confidence. Rank has argued that raising machine games duty on Category B machines from its current 20% rate would push up operating costs, make venues less sustainable, force closures, cost jobs, cut tax receipts and stall investment.

Harris had previously said roughly 30% of Rank's UK workforce — about 2,000 people — could be affected if the duty were doubled to 40%. He said HM Treasury had accepted similar arguments in the past and suggested that, given supportive policy, casinos and bingo clubs could contribute to what he called the government's growth agenda.

Rank is due to publish its first-half results for 2026-27 on 28 January 2027.