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25 Nov 2014
Serco to sell leisure arm
By Jak Phillips
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Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre is among the leisure sites operated by Serco
Photo: Flickr.com / Ian Wood
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Up to 70 UK leisure and sports facilities face an uncertain future after operator Serco announced plans to sell its leisure arm.
Services giant Serco is looking to offload several of its ‘non-core’ businesses as part of a strategy overhaul, ahead of a planned £550m rights issue. One of these businesses is Serco Leisure, which manages 70 UK locations including Bisham Abbey and Lilleshall National Sports Centres, the National Water Sports Centre and Manchester Aquatics Centre.
Livingstone Partners is understood to be handling the sale of the leisure unit, which has more than 66,000 members across its facilities. A Serco Leisure spokesperson told Leisure Opportunities that the process is ongoing and that it “wouldn’t be appropriate” to outline a timescale for the completion of the sale at this stage.
Serco recently cut its profit forecast for 2014/15, and wrote off £1.5bn from the the value of the business following a review by new group CEO Rupert Soames, who is the grandson of Winston Churchill. The move prompted a negative response from investors and the company’s share price has almost halved in recent weeks.
In a statement, Soames said his review encompassed “much turning over of stones” as he bids to bring stability to the ailing business, adding: “There are a tough couple of years ahead as we make this transition, but it will be worth it." |
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