Asian gamblers are key to the turnaround
This month, Hong Kong-listed Landing International Development Ltd. will ask its shareholders to approve the proposed purchase of London based luxury casino Les Ambassadeurs Club Ltd. The casino currently has 45 table games including baccarat, blackjack and three-card poker.
It also has a longstanding reputation as a hangout for high rollers from Europe, the Middle East, and more recently, Asia, according to the Asia Gaming Brief. In a filing, the company stated it would “continue to expand and focus on the Chinese markets for high rollers”; last year, 50.3 percent of the club’s customers hailed from Asia.
“The board considers now the right timing to expand and diversify its gaming operations into other markets by investing in a casino with well-defined and recognized brand name such as Les Ambassadeurs Club,” the company said in a filing. Landing says the acquisition “represents a unique and good investment opportunity that allows the company to step up its investment and presence in the gaming industry and to enhance the future earning capability and potential of the group”—that despite a sizeable drop in operating profits last year. In the company’s view, strong Asian play and “the implementation of quality credit control measurements” can turn things around at the club, which figured prominently in the James Bond thriller Dr. No.
If shareholders approve the deal, Landing said its debt financing and internal resources would fund the acquisition, reported CalvinAyre.com. Despite potential higher risks, more favorable returns are expected from Asian high rollers, the firm said, adding that “through implementation of quality credit control measurements,” the risk of debt recovery would be reduced and manageable.
The seller is Twinwood Ltd., a U.K.-incorporated firm. GGRAsia cited an extract of Twinwood’s accounts that indicates revenues were approximately ?49.2 million for 2015, with approximately ?21.6 million of that from gaming revenue. Gaming revenue fell by about 79 percent compared to 2014, the publication reported; other accounts put the losses slightly higher, at about 83 percent.
Meanwhile, Landing International is also busy in South Korea, developing a casino resort on Jeju Island near Seoul in the Korean Strait. The $1.8 billion resort, a joint project between Landing and its partner Genting Singapore, broke ground in February. It will reportedly be modeled after Genting Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, and will open in stages from 2017 to 2019.
Shareholders will make the call at a special meeting April 27.
