Privately owned bingo hall operator, Buckingham Bingo has said that it is in new talks with banks, as it announced a loss of £88.7 million for its last tax year. The struggling bingo operator, which owns 12 bingo halls, last April started a debt restructuring program and currently has a ‘going concern’ status.

With the news of the losses, it is likely that Buckingham Bingo will break their loan repayment covenant and its directors have warned that: “the forecast covenant breach indicates a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt upon the group’s and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern”.

Even if the loan agreement is broken, the directors reinforced that they have, “adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future”.

As with other bingo hall operators such as Gala and Mecca, Buckingham Bingo has suffered a downturn in customers since the smoking ban and the limit of £500 jackpot machines as well as increased duty and VAT taxation.

Feb 12 2009