Corporate spending rise buoys Arena Leisure

03 August 2010
Corporate spending rise buoys Arena Leisure

Improving levels of corporate hospitality spending have helped racecourse operator Arena Leisure to a 25% rise in profit to £2m in the first six months of 2010.

Average attendance at the firm's courses - Wolverhampton, Worcester, Windsor, Doncaster, Lingfield Park, Southwell and Folkestone - rose 3%. But corporate hospitality numbers were up 13% to 13,000 over the period.

Monday night horseracing at Windsor was a popular fixture for City workers before the recession, and now appears to be recovering.

Arena's profit for the six months to June was up a quarter to £2m, while corporate hospitality was up 13%.

Chairman David Thorpe said: "It could be some time before we see the bankers coming back in full force, and it won't look the same as it did in those heady days. But at the moment it is very encouraging."

Revenues at the company dropped slightly to £30.1m, owing to a fall in the levy paid by the betting industry.

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By Neil Gerrard

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