Bingo Halls Cut Jobs

[Boat Drinks]

Rank Group Plc, the owner of Hard Rock cafes and Grosvenor Casinos, will cut jobs at its Mecca bingo halls and close the company's headquarters to bolster efforts to end three years of deteriorating earnings.

About 200 positions will go at the bingo unit, while 40 headquarters workers will lose their jobs to help save 16 million pounds ($30.5 million) a year, Chief Executive Officer Ian Burke said today on a conference call. First-half profit at Rank rose 87 percent, partly because of a lower tax charge, the London-based company said.

Rank hasn't made money since 2003, when profit fell 30 percent. Burke, who took over in March, is seeking to complete the company's exit from its money-losing Deluxe Media DVD distribution unit and may sell the Hard Rock restaurant, hotel and casino division to concentrate on gaming in Britain, where gambling laws are being loosened.