According to reports circulating the UK industry this week, the much-talked about acquisition of Sceptre Leisure, one of the major British operators, by Germany’s Gauselmann Group is ‘imminent’.
The process of acquiring Sceptre has taken some considerable time, fuelling the speculation, but we are assured from sources close to both companies, that the deal is in its final stages.
With its recent purchase of major adult gaming centres (AGCs) operator Praesepe, and the creation of a new British ‘umbrella’, Merkur Casino UK Ltd, the Sceptre deal would give Gauselmann a considerable share of the British gaming machine market.
Observers suggest that the Gauselmann philosophy is to buy into the UK market because although it is mature, it is politically and economically stable, unlike the Eurozone countries where much of its current operations are based. And, importantly, the group needs to move outside of Germany as the domestic market is under threat from stringent curbs on its activities by joint action from the German Bundesländer or states (See InterGame German Special Issue, January 2013).
The strategy is matching that of Gauselmann Group’s great rival, Novomatic of Austria, which also has a strong holding in the German business. Novomatic, already parent company of British manufacturer Astra, recently acquired Bell Fruit and Mazooma and then added major operator Gamestec to its UK portfolio.
Gauselmann’s name is still being linked with major bingo clubs operator Gala, which has 140 clubs.
Sceptre is believed to have about 25,000 machines of all types in operation, spread across over 20,000 locations. It is one of three major groupings of AWP operators in Britain. Gamestec is the largest, with about 75,000 machines and the collective members of the Independent Operators’ Association have around 23,000.
It is interesting to note that sales of all types of new machines in the UK in 2011 fell to one of the lowest levels of all time, at between 12,000 and 14,000. With the number of pubs still reducing, now down to about 35,000, it is not unreasonable to estimate a total installed base of about 50,000 AWPs.
