Sceptre set to reveal pubs deal

LANCASHIRE gaming company Sceptre Leisure looks set to hit the ground running this month when it reports its first results as a public company.

Sceptre, which joined AIM last September after Orb Holdings was bought by smaller listed company Gamingking, is believed to have clinched deals to supply a pub company and a betting shop operator with slot machines, pool tables and juke boxes.

Headquartered in Bamber Bridge near Preston where it employs 130 people, the company is the second-largest operator of amusement machines in the licenced retail sector.

Chief executive Ken Turner said the company is helping the ailing pubs sector by providing landlords with an additional income stream.

He said: “The pub trade is the worst it has been for years, which is largely down to supermarkets discounting heavily on alcohol which is encouraging people to drink at home rather than in a pub or a club.

“It is back street boozers which have limited facilities, which are suffering the most, so those which we are working with are trying to reverse that situation.

The company, which employs 400 people nationwide, operates more than 20,000 machines. Its results will be published next Thursday.

Mr Turner added: “We are excited about becoming a public company and are pleased with what we have done.”