29 Apr 2016
(29 April 2016, Hong Kong) Landing International Development Limited (“Landing International” or the “Company”, HKEx Code: 00582) is pleased to announce that the Group has successfully completed its acquisition of Les Ambassadeurs Club located in London’s upscale Mayfair district at a consideration of £137 million (approx. HK$1.644 billion). The acquisition symbolises Landing International's business breakthrough beyond Asia, marking a major step towards its goal of becoming a world-class gaming brand with its business development in London.
The consideration has been funded by the Group’s internal resources, debt and equity financing. With a long history of two centuries, Les Ambassadeurs Club has established itself as a major landmark in the architectural heritage and social life of the Mayfair and London scene, and as one of the most exclusive and sought after casino memberships. The Club has an international customer base who are mainly ultra-high net worth individual customers. In recent years, emphasis has been put in expanding its Asian customer base to complement its more traditional strength with European and Middle Eastern customers. Upon completion of the acquisition, the Company plans to focus on expanding its Chinese customer base with high betting, and expects such target customers to bring more revenue in the future. Through the implementation of quality credit control measures, the Company believes that the risk of bad debt can be minimized.
Mr. Yang Zhihui, Chairman of Landing International, said, “We are pleased to have included the two-centuries-old Les Ambassadeurs Club into Landing International’s business footprint, which symbolises our business breakthrough beyond Asia, striving to gain global presence in the industry. Les Ambassadeurs Club is a promising overseas project with an extensive customer base of ultra-high net worth individual customers in Europe and Middle East. Looking ahead, we plan to attract more Chinese customers with high betting leveraging the Group’s strengths to further enrich Les Ambassadeurs Club’s customer base to maximize returns of the project.”
About Les Ambassadeurs Club
Les Ambassadeurs Club is operated pursuant to operating licenses and a casino premises license issued under the Gambling Act 2005 by the City of Westminster. The Club provides round-the-clock gaming services with 45 gaming tables offering a variety of games including American roulette, baccarat, blackjack, three card poker. It also has several featured private VIP rooms and the largest outdoor gambling zone in London. Les Ambassadeurs Club is one of the most exclusive and distinguished gambling clubs in the UK located in the very heart of London’s upscale Mayfair district at Nos. 5 and 6 Hamilton Place, which is a fine historic and spacious building with a number of stylish private gaming rooms, a notable main staircase and an elegant library.
There are currently 27 casinos operating in London, 6 of them have traditionally been regarding as being ‘high end’, including Les Ambassadeurs Club. The casino business in London is physically highly concentrated with all the main Mayfair casinos being located within a few hundred yards of each other close to Hyde Park Corner in the south west part of Mayfair. Les Ambassadeurs Club occupies a prime position in this location and situates inside the largest and most flexible building, making it a unique and exclusive casino at the district. In recent years, it has grown to be one of the leading casinos among those high end casinos in the UK. According to the information provided by the seller, for the 12 months ended 31 December 2014, the Club had a market share of approximately 36% of the high end gaming market in terms of casino drop and approximately 27% in terms of attendance.
Exterior view of Les Ambassadeurs Club
The Club is equipped with 45 gaming tables offering a variety of games including American roulette, baccarat, blackjack and three card poker
The elegant library
For further details of Les Ambassadeurs Club, please visit its official website: http://www.lesambassadeurs.com/
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