The current state of the British AWP has been underlined by news issued from the country's largest operator, Inspired Gaming Group.
The company warned that its pubs division was "as it predicted in January," showing weak trading. It stated that the group was conducting a thorough review of its pubs division and considering a number of strategic options.
Inspired is focusing the company’s resources, it said, on faster growing sectors within gaming and leisure, both in the UK and overseas.
The frailties of the new Gambling Act and the effects of the smoking ban are clearly wreaking havoc on the British trade, and Inspired is no different from any other major operator in this respect.
The company expects to announce the conclusions of its review of the pubs division before June when it is due to report its interim results to April 12, 2008.
It said: "Despite the tougher trading environment anticipated as a result of the smoking ban, the directors had expected the pubs division to be marginally profitable for the current financial year as a result of cost savings.
"The most recent financial information shows that trading in the pubs division has deteriorated since the announcement of the preliminary results due to a reduced level of revenues on those machines where the company has a revenue share and a reduction in the number of machines in pubs as a result of recent pub closures."
Inspired added: "If this trend were to continue, the board does not believe that this recent deterioration in trading in the pubs division could be offset by gains in other areas of the business. Pending the outcome of the strategic review, the directors are planning further cost cutting measures to help mitigate the impact."
The activity levels in all of the company’s other divisions, UK Gaming, UK LBO, UK Leisure and International, provided almost all of the profits generated in the current financial year and remain positive.
