sceptre leisure plc
139 brookfield place
walton summit
bamber bridge
preston
pr5 8bf
t 01772 694 242
f 01772 694 243
w wwwsceptreleisureplccouk
e infosceptreleisureplccouk
sceptre leisure plc annual report and accounts 2009
sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009 introduction
sceptre leisure plc’s principal activities are centred on
the provision of gaming lottery and leisure equipment
in this report we explain how much we have achieved
since our formation and how we intend to build on
that success
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system against which an organisation can be credited by a third party overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 01
annual report and accounts 2009
highlights
financial highlights contents
overview
01 highlights
02 who we are
04 our markets
business review
06 chairman’s statement
08 chief executive’s review
16 financial review
18 principal risks and uncertainties
governance
20 directors secretary and advisors
21 directors’ report
24 statement of directors’ responsibilities
25 independent auditors’ report
accounts
26 consolidated income statement
27 consolidated balance sheet
28 consolidated cash ﬂow statement
29 consolidated statement of changes in equity
30 notes to the ﬁnancial statements
59 company balance sheet
60 company reconciliation of movements 
in shareholders’ funds
61 notes to the company ﬁnancial statements
other information
66 notice of annual general meeting
68 shareholder notes
revenue 
£392m
2008 £214m
83
operating proﬁt before exceptional items
£3 7 m
2008 £19m
93
net cash from operating activities
£128m
2008 £94m
36
earnings per share before exceptional items
36p
2008 24p
50
operational highlights
average machine weekly rental income increased by 23
machine utilisation at target of 95
excellent opportunity to capitalise on two distinct customer
and product bases
lotteryking and kelly’s eye to benefit from rollout into 
pub market
13257ra09p01p05qxd13257ra09p01p05qxd  71009  1825  page 01 who we are
the group at a glance
02 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
sceptre leisure
group provides
gaming solutions
nationwide across
the entire leisure
industry 
13257ra09p01p05qxd13257ra09p01p05qxd  71009  1825  page 02 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 03
annual report and accounts 2009
since formation in 1998 sceptre has grown to be one of only two truly national suppliers
of coinoperated leisure equipment to the licensed market we provide excellence not
only through products supplied but also through unrivalled customer service standards
our service is now well recognised throughout the uk with all major regional and
national brewers pub companies and leisure chains f ollowing the reverse takeover 
of gamingking in september 2008 sceptre leisure plc became much more than an
operating company and now adds unique value to our customer partners through 
three trading brands
sceptre
the business in leisure
sceptre leisure solutions
rents coinoperated amusement
equipment to pubs bookmakers and
other leisure venues throughout the uk
supplying many of the major players in
the leisure industry 
sceptre enjoys a strong position as the
only national amusement machine
operator with fullymanned depots
throughout the uk it has an excellent
reputation for quality and has seen
consistent growth throughout the 
last 10 years
our trading brands
lotteryking
f ounded in 1993 lotteryking is the
market leader in providing vended lottery
solutions to the registered members’ club
market it provides vending machines
pulltab lottery tickets and lottery
solutions to over 3000 locations across
the uk the company continues to
develop the product introducing
innovative new technology such as 
lcd screens for advertising use 
the lotteryking brand has been
developed from a purely social club
market and is now available in pubs 
and other public places
kelly’s eye
sceptre leisure plc formerly 
gamingking acquired kelly’s eye in 
may 2005 as the leading supplier of
fundraising products to the registered
members’ club market kelly’s eye offers
a full range of fundraising and gameplay
products f rom bingo to darts poker to
skittles kelly’s eye products provide 
entertainment for thousands every 
week kelly’s eye is also able to produce
bespoke rafﬂe and draw tickets to order 
although historically being a ‘club
focused’ business kelly’s eye is now
taking advantage of sceptre leisure’s
strong presence and relationships in 
the public house market
13257ra09p01p05qxd13257ra09p01p05qxd  71009  1825  page 03 our markets
where we operate
we have grown
successfully since
1998 providing 
excellence not 
only through the 
products we supply
but also the quality
of our service
13257ra09p01p05qxd13257ra09p01p05qxd  81009  1648  page 04 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 05
annual report and accounts 2009
sceptre leisure solutions limited
– greater dependence on alternative 
income for regionals pubcos and
landlords
– sceptre has continued to grow in spite
of closures
amusement machines
– increased presence in leisure travel and
multisite locations
– stakes and prizes increase in june
2009 provided a boost to the market
betting shops
– fixed odds betting t erminal fobt
market at around 40000 pieces in 
the uk
– sceptre operates around 800 units
– recent award of contract with 
national bookmaker will increase 
this through 2009
machine locations
1 pubs 67
2 clubs 14 
3 travel 8
4 multisite 7
5 licensed betting ofﬁces 4
locations
– sceptre is the only operator with fully
manned depots across the entire uk
speed of service
– service capability 364 days a year
– 12 regional depots with good access to
motorway networks and major cities
and towns
– motorcycle engineers in central london
strength of management
– blend of youth and experience
– combines industry experience with
fresh operating practices
– regional directors run depots as
individual operating centres
– depots managed autonomously 
responding to customer need at point 
of delivery
– kpis are well constructed and
rigorously monitored to ensure tight
cost and operational control at all levels
machine assets
– 95 utilisation at 30 april 2009
– dedicated asset management
department
– excellent relationships with suppliers
means input to new products based on
ﬁeld research and trials
number of units
– sceptre – 18000 operated at 
30 september 2009
– lotteryking – 3000 operated at 
30 september 2009
recent growth
– growth in current ﬁnancial year has
been organic
– highquality customer base with
growth at the top end
rebranding
– lotteryking – new look for machines
draws on lotteryking’s wellknown
brand within the registered members
club market
– the name ‘pull t ablotto’ currently
being trademarked
– kelly’s eye – new look for expansion
into pub market has been well received
– new fullcolour catalogue produced in
line with new identity
new contracts
– growth has been strong in licensed
retail licensed betting and other 
leisure venues new and additional
business has been secured with 
leading customers
online
– kelly’s eye – ecommerce website went
live in ﬁrst quarter of 2009
our markets our differentiators our progress
the group’s principal activities are centred around the provision of gaming lottery  
and leisure equipment to the licensed trade our well structured and vastly experienced
management team has allowed us to forge strong links with major machine
manufacturers ensuring that we keep ahead of the changing needs of our market 
this allows us to ensure that only the most proﬁtable machines are sited on our
customers’ estates
1
3
4
5
2
13257ra09p01p05qxd13257ra09p01p05qxd  71009  1826  page 05 chairman’s statement
signiﬁcant advances
06 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
amusement with prizes
these machines pay out cash prizes
to a maximum of £70 and are a must
in terms of customer expectation
and licensee proﬁt we constantly
monitor and update machines to
maximise our customers income
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1827  page 06 welcome to sceptre leisure plc’s first
annual report and accounts in which the
board is pleased to report a strong set of
full year figures turnover  profit before
exceptional items and cash generated
from operations are all ahead of the prior
year  and continue the progress presented
in our interim statement
following the reverse takeover in
september 2008 the integration of 
the two businesses was successfully
completed and support functions
consolidated in addition certain
rebranding has taken place and a number
of new products and initiatives launched
the group has achieved some significant
contract wins from the competition and
this momentum has continued into the
new financial year  despite the beginning
of a recession in the uk and continued
difficult operating conditions for the pub
and club market the group has continued
to grow by increasing market share and
the board’s strategy is to continue this
through a combination of organic growth
and acquisition
the banking crisis resulted in the
termination of some of our leasing
facilities during the year  while this placed
an absolute limit on the number of new
contracts we could accept the raising of
£55m of new equity in june 2009 has
enabled the expansion to continue 
we have also secured a number of new
asset finance lines since the year end
which have been utilised to fund recent
capital purchases
i am convinced that we have the best
executive senior management team in the
business and this will continue to be very
important to the future of the group
finally i would like to thank the
management and staff of our trading
divisions for their commitment and 
hard work over the past 12 months 
our reputation for customer service 
and operational innovation is built on 
their contributions and i am sure that 
the board can rely on their continued
support in the months ahead
douglas y ates
chairman
7 october 2009
overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 07
annual report and accounts 2009
the group has achieved
some signiﬁcant contract
wins from the competition
and this momentum has
continued into the new
ﬁnancial year 
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1827  page 07 chief executive’s review
maximising opportunities
the group now operates
approximately 21000
amusement and gaming
machines and is well
placed to continue to
beneﬁt from industry
consolidation
ken t urner
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 08 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 09
annual report and accounts 2009
it gives me great pleasure to present my
first annual review for sceptre leisure plc
since our interim report earlier this year
the group has continued to grow its
business in the licensed trade whilst
maintaining improvements in our machine
revenue and utilisation averages 
the businesses acquired in the reverse
takeover earlier this year have now been
fully integrated and we are beginning to
see the benefits of being able to offer our
full range to a wider customer base
the drive for growth continues into the
new financial year our successful placing
of £55m in new shares on aim in june
2009 will provide the financial resources
needed to increase penetration in all of
our target markets
performance overview
the results for the 12 months to the end 
of april 2009 showed turnover up 83 
to £392m with a similar rise in both 
gross profit and operating profit before
exceptionals net cash from operating
activities also increased to £128m from
£94m in the prior year  
the group’s performance continued to
build on the strong start reported in 
our interim statement all of the above
measures improved in the second six
months of the year 
we continue to work hard at maximising
the revenue achieved from our assets
with our machine utilisation ratio the
percentage of our total machine estate 
on active hire continuing to hold at our
target rate of 95 this coupled to the
growth of our average weekly rental
income per machine over the period
under review has allowed us to increase
profitability despite the challenging
environment in which we operate
the group won significant new business
with highquality customers during the
year  allowing us to increase both machine
numbers and average income levels in the
face of continued pub closures again this
momentum has continued into the new
financial year with further contract
awards being won by sceptre leisure
solutions in the first quarter 
our three main trading divisions are now
fully established within the group and
continue to work towards our strategic
objectives in a coordinated manner  
i would like to take this opportunity to
summarise the main achievements in 
the year under review
sceptre leisure solutions
the directors believe that sceptre
remains the secondlargest operator of
amusement and gaming machines in the
uk’s licensed retail sector  and the only
national operator with fully staffed depots
across the country during the year we
opened a new depot in cardiff allowing us
to offer an average twohour service
response time across the uk
during the year  the number of machines
operated grew by 19 to 18000 with
average weekly rental also increasing
23 during the period whilst pub
closures continue to affect the lower end
of the market our experience is that at
the top end our customers will continue to
do well where their offering includes our
marketleading machine portfolio to help
them achieve their financial targets 
we have continued to grow both the
quantity and quality of our machine estate
whilst many of our competitors have 
failed to do so
the group won signiﬁcant
new business with high
quality customers during the
year  allowing us to increase
both machine numbers and
average income levels
machine asset utilisation
95
2008 94
net cash from operating activities
£128m
2008 £94m
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 09 chief executive’s review
continued
customer service t eam
our unrivalled commitment to
customer service has been
reinforced with the addition of a 
new stateoftheart call centre
located at our head office this has
led not only to enhanced service for
our customers but also generates
technical data and operational
statistics for our internal 
kpi measurements 
10 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
10 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 10 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 11
annual report and accounts 2009
sceptre gaming the fixed odds betting
terminal fobt subdivision of sceptre
leisure solutions signed a new
partnership with videobet a subsidiary
of the playtech group in november 2008
the partnership gave sceptre gaming
exclusive supply of videobet’s multi
game software in the uk including
revolutionary games and industryfirst
loyalty features and will strengthen
sceptre gaming’s position in the uk
fobt market
sceptre gaming experienced strong
growth with fobt machines in licensed
betting offices over the year and will
continue to rollout the product across
the uk this partnership with videobet
highlights sceptre gaming’s strong
position in the uk fobt market and
commitment to supplying our customers
with the highest quality product available
we aim to achieve a significant share of
the estimated 40000piece fobt market
in the uk which has traditionally been
dominated by two machine and software
suppliers our fobt s are currently
undergoing trials in a number of national
and regional licensed betting office
operators’ premises and both players
and operators have received the product
extremely well
the videobet platform offers unique
player tracking and customer loyalty
functionality which can be utilised by our
lbo customers to increase revenues and
introduce crossplatform marketing
videobet’s software is not confined to the
fobt market and can easily be adapted
for digital category c awp amusement
with prizes machines for use in pubs and
clubs sceptre has traditionally operated
analogue awps in all of its markets but
this partnership will allow us to supply
a digital offering for our customers
which will complement our existing
product range
we continue to concentrate on sceptre
leisure’s operating ratios and particularly
that between the numbers of machines
operated to staff employed this ratio is
analysed monthly and during the course
of the year we continually rebalanced
our staffing levels between the depots
according to need this ensures that not
only are we employing the right number
of people across the business but that
they are employed in the correct part of
the country
fixed odds betting terminals across uk
c40000
source the gambling commission
combined b2b3 machine categories
at 31 march 2009
our strategy our goals our progress
sceptre leisure plc
isafocused
company supplying
amusement and
gaming machines
we aim to be the
supplier of choice to
the uk’s licensed
retail sector 
develop market
leadership positions
create longterm
shareholder value
21000 machines currently operated
growth in current ﬁnancial year has
been organic
highquality customer base with
growth at the top end
sceptre has partnership agreement
to become the sole uk distributor of
videobetplaytech standalone and
serverhosted multigame software
growth has been strong in licensed
retail licensed betting and other
leisure venues
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd 71009 1828 page 11 video machines
a wellsited video machine can
generate high levels of additional
income sceptre leisure ensures
that our customers are equipped
with the latest games machines in
this quickly changing market
chief executive’s review
continued
12 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 12 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 13
annual report and accounts 2009
lotteryking
following the reverse takeover in
september 2008 we rebranded and
relaunched lotteryking within the club
market in which it operates around 3000
instantwin lottery machines we have 
also introduced a number of new lottery
games some offering a higher level of
payout to increase player involvement
and others being based on wellknown
club fruit machines initial sales figures 
of these new games are encouraging 
and they are a valuable aid to gaining 
new lottery sites
in addition to this traditional product base
lotteryking now offers the group’s full
range of coinoperated gaming and
amusement machines to the registered
club market through a strengthened 
sales team these efforts should result in
increased density and operational benefits
as we begin to win market share in the
new product groups
in my interim review i announced a 
new trial of around 100 regional brewer
operated sites in the northwest into
which we would be installing lottery
vending terminals the trial involved 
an estatewide rollout with the lotteries
being sold supporting a single charity
nominated by the pub operator  
the model has proved popular with
players sites and charity alike and we will
extend the trial to a further 200 locations
in different regions during the course of
the new financial year 
kelly’s eye
following an extensive rebranding
exercise kelly’s eye was launched online
in the first quarter of 2009 as well as
generating sales the website has proven 
a valuable tool to communicate the full
range of available products to our group
customers in other divisions and kelly’s
eye products are now being distributed
through both sceptre and lotteryking
sales channels
the kelly’s eye product line has expanded
to include newly popular indoor games
such as poker whilst retaining perennial
favourites such as bingo and darts 
these activities offer pub operators the
opportunity to attract and retain a client
base both through themed evenings and
teambased competitions and sceptre is
wellplaced to capitalise on the growth of
this market in pubs across the uk
support division
the support and technical functions 
of the group are now fully integrated
machine service installation collection
warehousing and distribution were all fully
consolidated two months after the reverse
takeover  administrative finance and ict
functions were also centralised at our
preston head office within six months of
the transaction date as i have stated
before however  the value to be derived
from the expanded group will come 
from revenue enhancement rather than
cost reduction
the consolidation of warehouse and
production into our preston head office
resulted in the closure of premises
previously operated in the northeast 
and cardiff and we successfully sublet 
or terminated the leases on these two
locations in spring 2009 reducing our
cost base in these areas
the group’s new customer service centre
opened at our head office in spring 2009
allowing our technical team to view and
manage service calls in real time across all
of our depots each service call which is
communicated electronically to our team
of 90 fieldbased engineers is tracked 
and monitored to ensure that our target
response times are met this continued
investment underlines our commitment to
customer service and will allow us to keep
sceptre’s response times to a minimum
ensuring that our assets are earning
money for our customers more of 
the time
machine rental income
£364m
2008 £210m
a vailable service cover days per year
364
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 13 pool tables
popular in pubs since the 1970s
pool tables can generate a great
deal of income through their own
take or over the bar  over 5m
people play pool every week in 
the uk 
62000
pool tables operated in the uk
source british association
of pool t able operators
chief executive’s review
continued
14 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1829  page 14 outlook
sceptre leisure plc grew strongly during
the year under review increasing market
share by attracting highquality customers
from our competitors we aim to continue
that organic growth during 2009–10 and
have made a positive start to the year
with further contract awards from
whitbread leisure for approximately 
50 of their nationwide business and
also from regional pub operator larder
leisure in the northeast of england
these new machines will be installed
during the second quarter of the current
financial year 
our fobt operation continues to expand
with a new solesupply agreement for
scotbet from 1 september  to whom we
were previously contracted for 50 of
their terminals our continued trials with
coral have also now moved into a more
advanced sixmonth extension period
we have increased the number of pub and
club lottery terminals since april with a
5 uplift in numbers across the country
in the last five months
in summary in the first few months of the
current year trading levels have continued
the established trend of yearonyear
growth and we remain in line with our
performance expectations
we will also look to grow through
acquisition if suitable targets can be found
that complement our existing business
our recent share placing for £55m gives
us the ability to follow this dual strategy 
of organic and acquisitive growth
the increases in stakes and prizes in june
2009 provided a welcome boost to the
awp market and sceptre has benefited
from increased rentals on the new and
converted machines our customers are
also now seeing benefit from the rollout 
of machines offering increased stake and
prizes through increased machine takings
our partnership with videobet and
playtech gives us exclusive access to
marketleading technology and we will
work with them to develop our digital
offering in the coming months
we will also continue to increase revenue
through the crossselling of our full
product portfolio into our groupwide
customer base of over 10000 locations
as we have demonstrated over the past
year our business continues to improve
operating margins and grow despite 
the general economic conditions and
continued pub closures we are confident
that we can not only maintain but build
on our strong performance last year in
the coming 12 months
ken turner
chief executive officer 
7 october 2009
overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 15
annual report and accounts 2009
sceptre leisure service centres
head office t 01772 694 242
birmingham t 0121 559 7568
bristol t 0117 955 4044
cardiff t 0292 104 0103
crewe t 01606 594 952
leeds t 0113 242 8106
london e t 01708 805 794
london w t 020 8589 0002
nottingham t 0115 932 6349
pl ymouth t 01752 696 105
preston t 01772 628 510
scotland t 01698 844 087
washington t 0191 416 6646
birmingham
london w
bristol
crewe
washington
scotland
preston
leeds
awp maximum prize value
£70
2008 £35
increase in average weekly
machine rental income
23
london e
nottingham
cardiff
plymouth
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1829  page 15 financial review
creating shareholder value
16 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
introduction
i would like to take the opportunity to
review some key areas of our financial
performance in the year under report
revenue
group turnover increased by 83 to
£392m as the benefit of acquisitions
materialised along with new major
contracts awarded within the year  
rental income increased by 7 4 to
£364m with new revenue streams
amounting to £25m
profitability
operating profit before exceptional items
increased by 93 to £37m whilst profit
before tax before exceptional items
increased by 7 4 to £18m the machine
sales and rental division representing
94 of the group revenues increased
operating profit by 58 to £42m
corporate overheads amounted to £05m
and comprised the costs of the board
legal professional and other fees
connected with running a public company
in the period following the reverse
takeover of gamingking plc
there was also an employee sharebased
payment charge recognised in the year of
£01m 2008 £nil
finance costs
the net finance costs charged to income
were £19m 2008 £09m of which £15m
was cash interest the balance related to a
noncash interest rate swap movement of
£04m loss 2008 £7 000 gain this
derivative contract was a condition of the
group’s banking agreements with hbos
earnings per share
basic earnings per share before
exceptionals at 36p 2008 24p
increased by 50
key performance indicators
the board of sceptre leisure plc monitors
a range of financial and nonfinancial
performance indicators reported on a
periodic basis to measure performance
against expected targets these include
financial 2009 2008
1 earnings per share before 
exceptional items 36p 24p
2 ebitda £130m £7 2m
nonfinancial
3 machine numbers 20921 15183
4 machine week 
average £3892 £3162
5 piecespersonnel 
ratio 46 45
6 asset utilisation 95 94
definitions
1 earnings per share is calculated in note
12 to the group accounts
2 ebitda is earnings before interest
income tax expense depreciation
amortisation exceptional items
including goodwill impairment 
and sharebased payment
3 machine numbers is the number 
of machines operated by the group
4 machine week average is the seven day
average gross rent received by the
group per machine operated
5 piecespersonnel ratio is the number 
of machines operated per person
employed within sceptre leisure
solutions
6 asset utilisation is the percentage 
of machines currently sited
capital expenditure
capital expenditure was £148m in 2009
the level of capital expenditure on
replacement machines amounted to
£83m and £56m spent on investment
capital for new contracts and new
products consolidation of warehouse
production and head office facilities
incurred capital expenditure of £02m with
remaining £07m spent on motor vehicles
reverse takeover of gamingking plc
on 29 september 2008 gamingking plc
bought orb holdings limited in a share
forshare transaction and subsequently
changed its name to sceptre leisure plc
due to the relative values of the two
groups following the transaction orb’s
shareholders became the majority
shareholders with 85 of the enlarged
share capital and the substance of the
combination was therefore that orb
holdings limited acquired gamingking plc
in a reverse takeover 
note 1 to the financial statements fully
explains the transaction in summary
however  the figures for the year ended 
30 april 2009 represent almost five
months of orb holdings operations
together with a little over seven months 
of the combined new group the group
figures used as comparatives represent
only orb holdings in the prior year 
the acquisition price of gamingking plc 
is broken down in note 15 as part of the
transaction the directors reviewed the
acquired group in order to assign a value
to intangible assets purchased the brand
names for both lotteryking and kelly’s
eye together with their customer
relationships within the registered
members club market were valued 
using a discounted cash flow method 
as required under ifrs these intangible
assets are being amortised over a 20year
period the revaluation of the assets 
also gave rise to a deferred tax liability
which has been recognised as part of 
the transaction
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  81009  1652  page 16 exceptional costs
following the transaction the group
incurred certain oneoff restructuring
costs these centred on provisions for
redundancy and onerous leases for
properties which are no longer required
all onerous lease amounts payable have
been fully provided for up to the first
available term break these costs are 
set out in note 4 to the consolidated
financial statements
prior year adjustment
following a review of accounting for
accrued income during the year  an 
underaccrual of cost associated with 
this income came to light the directors
considered that the error would be
material to the prior year’s group figures
if left unadjusted t o enable a more
accurate assessment of the relative
performances between the year 
under review and the prior period an
adjustment was made the impact is 
to increase cost of sales by £270000 
in 2008 trade and other payables 
are increased by £270000 in 2008
£194000 net of deferred tax liability
reduced at 28 and £66000 in 2007
£47 000 net of deferred tax at 28 
with a corresponding decrease in reserves
brought forward this information is also
disclosed in note 5 to the accounts
financing
net debt increased to £193m compared 
to £180m as at 29 april 2008 this
increase is principally as a result of
acquiring gamingking plc and significant
capital investment for new business new
products and reorganistion of the
combined group
as part of the transaction above the
group successfully renewed its banking
facilities with hbos at the end of april
2009 bank debt stood at £107m april
2008 £112m made up of a loan of £83m
and overdraft of £24m april 2008 loan
£101m overdraft £11m the loan is
repayable over a fiveyear term ending 
in september 2012 we are currently in
discussion with our bankers regarding
future facilities full details are 
set out in note 1 to the consolidated
financial statements
during the year  the group also settled 
an outstanding loan liability of £04m
relating to preacquisition borrowings by
gamingking plc t otal loan repayments
during the year were £22m
in addition a vendor loan of £22m
remains outstanding this loan was
created on the acquisition of the crown
leisure estate and is repayable by 2012
with capital repayments beginning in
september 2009
the group uses finance leasing to 
acquire certain of its plant and equipment
at the end of april 2009 asset finance
outstanding totalled £7 2m april 2008
£51m the leases are held with various
financial institutions under differing
terms but in general machine assets 
are financed over a period of 24 months
with commercial vehicles financed over 
a period of up to 48 months repayments
of finance lease facilities during the period
totalled £7 9m
cash and cash equivalents decreased 
by £1m to £16m primarily as a result 
of acquiring the gamingking business 
in june 2009  the placing of 16603400
shares raising £55m ensures the group
can continue with its growth strategy
without the same reliance on asset
finance providers
all key financing covenants have been
met for the period
financial risk treasury management
the majority of the group’s borrowings
are fixed through a combination of fixed
rate securitised debt and interest rate
swaps the banking and covenants are
reviewed throughout the year as part 
of the internal reporting process with 
a focus on ensuring appropriate
headroom is available 
interest rate risk
the group uses an interest rate collar 
to manage its exposure to interest rate
movements on its bank borrowings
contracts covering notional amounts
equivalent to the bank loan restrict
interest payments at rates between 
47 and 575 over the life of the 
loan the fair value of the collar at the
reporting date is reflected in the group
balance sheet under the derivative
financial instrument heading
currency rate risk
the group buys currency at spot rate
however in recent months the group 
has increased trading with overseas
companies and recognises that its
exposure may increase in the future the
group will look to minimise any increased
exposure to foreign exchange through the
use of currency instruments if appropriate
liquidity risk
the group’s approach to managing
liquidity is to ensure as far as possible
that it has sufficient liquidity to meet 
its liabilities as they fall due with surplus
facilities to cope with any unexpected
variances in timing of cash flows 
at 30 april 2009 the group had undrawn
borrowing facilities of £31m 2008
£57m of which £12m 2008 £19m
were uncommitted
t axation
the effective tax rate for the year was
267 2008 105
lesley humphrys
finance director 
7 october 2009
overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 17
annual report and accounts 2009
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1829  page 17 18 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
principal risks and uncertainties
risk is a natural part of any business the group has identified evaluated and has
mitigating strategies for the principal risks faced by the business
although it is not possible entirely to eliminate risks all reasonable steps are taken 
to ensure that any adverse consequences associated with these risks are minimised
the board has identified the following factors as principal potential risks to the
successful operation of the business
risk description potential impact mitigation
damage to customer relationships
loss of operational knowledge
shortmediumterm disruption to
the business
ensure that succession planning in place at 
all levels
review and assess career development 
options for key personnel
review and benchmark remuneration 
nd beneﬁts
annual performance reviews to highlight
problems early
people
loss of key personnel
limit to the group’s ability to fund
capital expenditure for continued
growth or machine injection
ensure alternative sources of investment
available if required – equity investmentbank
develop relationships with a range of asset
ﬁnance providers to spread risk
maintain regular contact with existing
providers to build relationships
reassess growth forecasts and equipment
requirements
financial
withdrawal of asset
ﬁnance lines
largescale closures of pubs and
other customer locations
reduction in future proﬁtability 
and cash ﬂow
limit to the group’s ability 
to achieve its strategy in 
target markets
failure to provide shareholder value
monthly reports by business units to identify
trading performance against forecast
monitoring of kpis and staffmachine ratios
swift actions taken to reduce capacity and
overhead where necessary
economic
prolonged economic
recession in the uk
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1829  page 18 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 19
annual report and accounts 2009
risk description potential impact mitigation
reduction in target market
limit to group’s ability to 
meet targets
reduction in future proﬁtability 
and cash ﬂow
consider sales opportunities in different
operating sectors
ensure professional advice sought
supply input to government consultations
review customer contracts to ensure 
taxspeciﬁc risk lies with them
regulatory
industryspeciﬁc
increases in tax and
duties
operational disruption to rectify
security problems
reduced machine take to affect
customer proﬁtability
security department to investigate all 
machine frauds
work with manufacturers to retroﬁt new
devices on existing machines
ensure new machines meet highest 
available standards
prolonged and
signiﬁcant machine
frauds
reduction in future proﬁtability 
and cash ﬂow
ensure increasing customer spread to reduce
reliance on single large customer
regular review of performance against service
level agreements
review customer solvency to ensure likelihood
of continued trading
ensure adequate review of all tenders for new
business at appropriate level
loss of major customer
reduction in future proﬁtability 
and cash ﬂow
ensure high level of preacquisition 
due diligence
ensure adequate professional advice sought
and received
review postacquisition integration and
operational planning
monthly ﬁnancial and operation performance
reviews of acquired business units
operational
poorly performing
acquisition
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1829  page 19 20 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
directors secretary and advisors
directors
douglas y ates
chairman
kenneth t urner
chief executive
lesley humphrys
finance director
brian nichols
managing director lotteryking
guy van zwanenberg
nonexecutive director
victor wardman
nonexecutive director
company secretary
guy van zwanenberg
registered office
20 blackfriars lane
london
ec4v 6hd
registered number
31897 47
nomad and broker
seymour pierce limited
20 old bailey
london
ec4m 7en
auditor
kpmg audit plc
st james square
manchester
m2 6ds 
solicitors
napthens llp 
st andrews house 
wellington street
blackburn
bb1 8db
mayer brown rowe  maw llp
11 pilgrim street
london
ec4v 6rw
registrars
capita irg 
the registry 
34 beckenham road 
beckenham 
kent 
br3 4tu
bankers
bank of scotland plc 
the mound 
edinburgh 
eh1 1yz
website
wwwsceptreleisureplccouk
13257ra09p20p25qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1832  page 20 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 21
annual report and accounts 2009
directors’ report
the directors present their directors’
report and financial statements for the
year ended 30 april 2009
principal activities and business review
the principal activity of the group is the
sale and rental of gaming and amusement
machines and associated ancillary items
a review of the year’s activities financial
performance and future prospects are
contained in the chief executive’s and
finance director’s reviews on pages 8 to
17 and form part of this directors’ report
key performance indicators
during the year  the directors monitored
the progress of the overall group and
subsidiary company strategies by
reference to certain financial and non
financial key performance indicators
these key performance indicators kpis
are monitored on a monthly basis and are
set out in the finance director’s review on
pages 16 to 17 
principal risks and uncertainties
a review of the principal risks and
uncertainties is on pages 18 to 19 and
forms part of this directors’ report
proposed dividend
the directors do not recommend the
payment of a dividend 2008 nil
directors
from 29 september 2008 the directors
of sceptre leisure plc were as follows
douglas y ates
kenneth turner
lesley humphrys
brian nichols
guy van zwanenberg
victor wardman
kenneth turner  who was appointed a
director since the last annual general
meeting retires in accordance with the
articles of association and being eligible
offers himself for reelection
lesley humphrys who was appointed a
director since the last annual general
meeting retires in accordance with the
articles of association and being eligible
offers herself for reelection
victor wardman who was appointed a
director since the last annual general
meeting retires in accordance with the
articles of association and being eligible
offers himself for reelection
directors’ interests
the directors’ beneficial interests in the
shares of the company relate to orb
holding limited as at 29 april 2008 and
to sceptre leisure plc as at 30 april 2009
the directors’ beneficial interests in the
shares of the company are as follows
30 april 2009 29 april 2008 
sceptre leisure plc orb holdings limited
5p ords 1p ords
number percentage number percentage
douglas y ates 13000 003 ——
kenneth turner 10921761 2818 84601 3315
lesley humphrys 994049 256 7 7 00 302
brian nichols 320853 083
guy van zwanenberg 40200 010
victor wardman 10921632 2818 84600 3315
directors’ interests in share options are set out in note 25 to the financial statements
substantial interest in share capital
as at 1 october 2009 the company was aware of the following holdings in addition to those of the directors disclosed above of 3 
or more of the nominal value of the company’s shares
name shareholding 
hillroad investments limited 16603400 2999
anthony y ates 5434997 982
stuart jackson 2168835 392
the interests and percentages shown above are calculated by reference to the company share capital in issue following the
placement of 16603400 shares on 3 july 2009 which enlarged the number of shares in issue to 55363120 this transaction 
was approved by shareholders at a general meeting held on 2 july 2009 details of which were communicated to shareholders 
on 17 june 2009
13257ra09p20p25qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1832  page 21 22 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
directors’ report
continued
financial instruments
the group’s treatment of financial
instruments is disclosed in note 1 to the
financial statements
employees
briefing and consultative procedures 
exist throughout the group to keep
employees informed on general business
issues and other matters of concern 
it is the group’s policy that there should
be no discrimination on grounds of race
religion age or gender in considering
applications for employment 
all employees are given equal
opportunities in terms of career
development and promotion
disabled employees
the group gives full consideration 
to applications for employment from
disabled persons where the requirements
of the job can be adequately fulfilled
where existing employees become
disabled it is the group’s policy wherever
practical to provide continuing
employment under normal terms and
conditions as stated above all employees
are given equal opportunities in terms of
career development and promotion
policy and practice on payment 
of creditors
it is the group’s policy to agree the terms
of payment with each of its suppliers at
the commencement of the trading
relationship and to abide by those 
terms at the year end there were 
47 days 2008 62 days purchases 
in trade payables
political and charitable contributions
charitable donations during the year
totalled £3300 2008 £2900 
no political contributions were made by
the company or any of its subsidiaries
forwardlooking statements
any forwardlooking statements made in
this document represent the board’s best
judgement as to what may occur in the
future however  the group’s actual fiscal
results and corporate developments in the
current and future periods will depend on
a number of economic competitive and
other factors some of which will be
outside the group’s control such factors
could cause the group’s actual results for
future periods to differ materially from
those expressed in any forwardlooking
statements in this document
board composition
the group is controlled through its board
of directors the board comprises the
nonexecutive chairman and two other
nonexecutive directors the chief
executive finance director and one other
executive director  the board’s main roles
are to create value for the shareholders
to approve the group’s strategic
objectives and to ensure that the
necessary financial and other resources
are made available to enable them to
meet these objectives specific
responsibilities reserved to the board
include setting group strategy reviewing
operational and financial performance
approving major acquisitions approving
appointments to the board and the
company secretary approving policies
relating to directors’ remuneration and
ensuring that a satisfactory dialogue takes
place with the shareholders
the board met 12 times during the year
under review at each meeting the board
receives a report from the chief executive
the finance director and other directors
as required
audit committee
the board has an audit committee which
consists of douglas y ates chairman 
guy van zwanenberg and victor
wardman all of whom are nonexecutive
directors the audit committee meets at
least twice yearly and is responsible for
ensuring that the financial performance 
of the group is properly reported and
monitored and for meeting the auditors
and reviewing their reports in relation 
to the financial statements and internal
control systems the group’s auditor
provides some nonaudit services 
but these are not considered to threaten
their independence the committee
reviews the level of nonaudit fees on 
an annual basis the audit committee
meetings are also attended by invitation
by representatives of the group’s auditors
and the finance director 
during the year the committee met 
twice to review the group’s draft 
financial statement and interim results
statement prior to board approval and to
consider the external auditor’s detailed
reports thereon
13257ra09p20p25qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  81009  1654  page 22 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 23
annual report and accounts 2009
remuneration committee
the board has a remuneration
committee the principal functions of
which are to determine the group’s policy
on the remuneration of senior executives
and the specific remuneration package 
of each director  the remuneration
committee also determines the allocation
of share options to employees the
remuneration committee consists of
victor wardman chairman douglas
y ates and guy van zwanenberg all of
whom are nonexecutive directors 
the remuneration committee meetings
are also attended by invitation by the
chief executive
during the year the committee met 
twice to review the share options schemes
and the remuneration for the fiscal 
year 200910
going concern
the group’s business activities together
with the factors likely to affect its future
development performance and position
are set out in the chief executive’s review
on pages 8 to 15 the financial position of
the group its cash flows liquidity position
and borrowing facilities are described 
in the finance director’s report on 
pages 16 to 17  in addition note 29 to the
consolidated financial statements includes
the group’s objectives policies and
processes for managing its capital its
financial risk management objectives
details of its financial instruments and
hedging activities and its exposure to
credit risk and liquidity risk
as highlighted in note 1 to the financial
statements the group meets its dayto
day working capital requirements from a
bank loan and overdraft facility together
with asset finance facilities from various
providers the overdraft facility of £3m
was renewable on 1 october 2009 and
while it has yet to be formally renewed 
it is still being made available to the
group the current economic conditions
create uncertainty particularly over a 
the level of demand for the group’s
products and services and b the
availability of bank and asset finance 
in the forseeable future
the directors have prepared trading and
cash flow forecasts for a period in excess
of one year from the date of approval of
these financial statements the forecasts
make assumptions in respect of future
trading conditions and in particular the
directors’ estimates of growth in the
number of machines placed the post 
year end growth and the forecast growth
in the number of machines will require
additional working capital in excess of the
facilities currently available this is the
normal model that the group works to
and it has the ability to reduce the level of
growth and hence capital required should
additional funds not be available
the group has opened renewal
negotiations with the bank but has 
at this stage not received any written
commitment that the facility will be
renewed during the group’s discussions
with its bankers about its future
borrowing needs no matters have been
drawn to its attention to suggest that
renewal may not be forthcoming on
acceptable terms
should sufficient funding not be agreed
with the bank the directors have
identified and verbally agreed alternative
sources of funding for their growth plans
but have not yet secured a legally 
binding commitment
nevertheless after making enquiries and
considering the uncertainties described
above the directors have a reasonable
expectation that the group and the
company will have adequate resources to
continue in operational existence for the
foreseeable future for these reasons
they continue to adopt a going concern
basis in preparing the annual report 
and accounts
disclosure of information to auditors
the directors who held office at the date
of approval of this directors’ report
confirm that so far as they are each
aware there is no relevant audit
information of which the company’s
auditors are unaware and each director
has taken all the steps that heshe ought
to have taken as a director to make
himselfherself aware of any relevant
audit information and to establish that 
the company’s auditors are aware of 
that information
auditors
during the year grant thornton uk llp
resigned as auditors of the company and
kpmg audit plc were appointed
in accordance with section 489 of the
companies act 2006 a resolution for the
reappointment of kpmg audit plc as
auditors of the company is to be 
proposed at the forthcoming annual
general meeting
by order of the board
guy van zwanenberg 
company secretary
20 blackfriars lane 
london 
ec4v 6hd
7 october 2009
13257ra09p20p25qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1832  page 23 24 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
statement of directors’ responsibilities in respect of the directors’ report 
and the financial statements
the directors are responsible for
preparing the directors’ report and the
group and parent company financial
statements in accordance with applicable
law and regulations
company law requires the directors 
to prepare group and parent company
financial statements for each financial
year  as required by the aim rules of the
london stock exchange they are required
to prepare the group financial statements
in accordance with ifrss as adopted by
the eu and applicable law and have
elected to prepare the parent company
financial statements in accordance 
with uk accounting standards and
applicable law uk generally accepted
accounting practice
under company law the directors must
not approve the financial statements
unless they are satisfied that they give 
a true and fair view of the state of affairs
of the group and parent company and 
of their profit or loss for that period 
in preparing each of the group and 
parent company financial statements 
the directors are required to
• select suitable accounting policies and
then apply them consistently
• make judgements and estimates that 
are reasonable and prudent
• for the group financial statements 
state whether they have been prepared
in accordance with ifrss as adopted 
by the eu
• for the parent company financial
statements state whether applicable 
uk accounting standards have been
followed subject to any material
departures disclosed and explained 
in the financial statements and
• prepare the financial statements on 
the going concern basis unless it is
inappropriate to presume that the group
and the parent company will continue 
in business
the directors are responsible for keeping
adequate accounting records that are
sufficient to show and explain the parent
company’s transactions and disclose with
reasonable accuracy at any time the
financial position of the parent company
and enable them to ensure that its
financial statements comply with the
companies act 2006 they have general
responsibility for taking such steps as are
reasonably open to them to safeguard the
assets of the group and to prevent and
detect fraud and other irregularities
the directors are responsible for the
maintenance and integrity of the
corporate and financial information
included on the company’s website
legislation in the uk governing the
preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in
other jurisdictions
13257ra09p20p25qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1832  page 24 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 25
annual report and accounts 2009
independent auditors’ report to the members of sceptre leisure plc
we have audited the financial statements
of sceptre leisure plc for the year ended
30 april 2009 set out on pages 26 to 65
the financial reporting framework that
has been applied in the preparation of the
group financial statements is applicable
law and international financial reporting
standards ifrss as adopted by the eu
the financial reporting framework that
has been applied in the preparation of the
parent company financial statements is
applicable law and uk accounting
standards uk generally accepted
accounting practice
this report is made solely to the
company’s members as a body in
accordance with sections 495 and 496 of
the companies act 2006 our audit work
has been undertaken so that we might
state to the company’s members those
matters we are required to state to them
in an auditors’ report and for no other
purpose t o the fullest extent permitted 
by law we do not accept or assume
responsibility to anyone other than the
company and the company’s members 
as a body for our audit work for this
report or for the opinions we have formed
respective responsibilities of directors
and auditors
as explained more fully in the directors’
responsibilities statement set out on
page 24 the directors are responsible 
for the preparation of the financial
statements and for being satisfied that
they give a true and fair view our
responsibility is to audit the financial
statements in accordance with applicable
law and international standards on
auditing uk and ireland those
standards require us to comply with the
auditing practices board’s apb’s ethical
standards for auditors
scope of the audit of the financial
statements
a description of the scope of an audit of
financial statements is provided on the
apb’s website at
wwwfrcorgukapbscopeuknp
opinion on financial statements
in our opinion
• the financial statements give a true and
fair view of the state of the group’s and
of the parent company’s affairs as at 
30 april 2009 and of the group’s profit
for the year then ended
• the group financial statements have
been properly prepared in accordance
with ifrss as adopted by the eu
• the parent company financial statements
have been properly prepared in
accordance with uk generally accepted
accounting practice
• the financial statements have been
prepared in accordance with the
requirements of the companies 
act 2006
emphasis of matter – going concern
in forming our opinion on the financial
statements which is not qualified we
have considered the adequacy of the
disclosure made in note 1 to the financial
statements concerning the group’s and
the parent company’s ability to continue
as a going concern in particular  that the
group has commenced discussions with
its bankers regarding renewing certain
existing facilities obtaining additional
facilities sufficient to meet the group’s
needs and resetting certain covenants
which the directors forecast may be
breached in the foreseeable future these
conditions along with the other matters
explained in note 1 to the financial
statements indicate the existence of 
a material uncertainty which may cast
significant doubt on the group’s and the
parent company’s ability to continue as a
going concern the financial statements
do not include the adjustments that would
result if the group and the parent
company were unable to continue as a
going concern
opinion on other matter prescribed 
by the companies act 2006
in our opinion the information given in 
the directors’ report for the financial year
for which the financial statements are
prepared is consistent with the 
financial statements
matters on which we are required 
to report by exception
we have nothing to report in respect 
of the following matters where the
companies act 2006 requires us to report
to you if in our opinion
• adequate accounting records have not
been kept by the parent company or
returns adequate for our audit have not
been received from branches not visited
by us or
• the parent company financial statements
are not in agreement with the
accounting records and returns or
• certain disclosures of directors’
remuneration specified by law are not
made or
• we have not received all the information
and explanations we require for 
our audit
stuart burdass 
senior statutory auditor 
for and on behalf of kpmg audit plc
statutory auditor
chartered accountants
st james square
manchester
m2 6ds
7 october 2009
13257ra09p20p25qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1832  page 25 consolidated income statement 
for the year ended 30 april 2009 
26 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
note 
30 april 2009

£000 
restated  
29 april 2008

£000  
revenue 2 39205 21354 
direct costs  28068 16095 
gross profit  11137 5259 
distribution costs  104 42 
administrative expenses – normal  7462 3295 
administrative expenses – exceptional 4 236 751 
total administrative expenses  7698 2544 
profit on disposal of property plant and equipment  154 8 
 
operating profit 6–7 3489 2681 
operating profit before exceptional items  3725 1930 
exceptional items  236 751 
 
operating profit  3489 2681 
finance income 8 – 7 
finance costs 9 1907 891 
net finance expense  1907 884 
profit before taxation  1582 1797 
tax expense 10 422 189 
profit for the financial year  1160 1608 
profit attributable to   
– equity holders of the parent  1127 1602 
– minority interests  33 6 
  1160 1608 
earnings per ordinary share   
– basic 12 31p 49p
– diluted  12 30p 49p
 results for the year ended 30 april 2009 are orb holdings limited for the full 12 months plus gamingking plc from the date of acquisition 29 september 2008 
 results for the year ended 29 april 2008 are of orb holdings limited only adjusted from those previously published as described in note 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements consolidated balance sheet 
at 30 april 2009 
 sceptre leisure plc  27 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
note £000
30 april 2009 
£000 £000
restated
29 april 2008
£000
assets  
noncurrent assets  
intangible assets 13 4924 2166
property plant and equipment 14 26854 21732
derivative financial instruments 23 – 7
total noncurrent assets 31778 23905
current assets  
inventories 16 1092 585
trade and other receivables 17 4744 2957
cash and cash equivalents 18 719 449
total current assets 6555 3991
total assets 38333 27896
liabilities  
current liabilities  
trade and other payables 19 10365 5331
interest bearing loans and borrowings 20 10230 6074
total current liabilities 20595 11405
noncurrent liabilities  
trade and other payables 19 468 433
interest bearing loans and borrowings 21 9772 12411
deferred taxation 22 916 959
derivative financial instruments 23 414 –
total noncurrent liabilities 11570 13803
 
total liabilities 32165 25208
 
net assets  6168 2688
equity   
share capital 26 4554 3
share premium account 27 173 38
merger reserve 27 2332 104
retained earnings 27 3733 2536
equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 6128 2681
minority interest 27 40 7
total equity 6168 2688
these financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 7 october 2009 and were signed on its behalf by 
 
 
kenneth turner 
director 
 
 
 
the accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements  consolidated cash flow statement 
for the year ended 30 april 2009 
28 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
note £000
30 april 2009 
£000 £000
restated
29 april 2008
£000
cash flows from operating activities  
profit before taxation 1582 1797
adjustments for  
depreciation 9002 5240
amortisation 206 60
recognition of negative goodwill – 979
equitysettled share options 97 –
profit on disposal of property plant and equipment 154 8
finance lossgain on derivative financial instruments 421 7
finance costs 1486 891
cash flows from operating activities before changes  
in working capital  12640 6994
changes in working capital  
increase in inventories 217 16
increase in trade and other receivables 1213 850
increase in trade and other payables 2872 4231
cash generated from operations 14082 10359
finance costs 1323 891
income tax receivedpaid 7 112
net cash from operating activities 12766 9356
cash flows from investing activities  
purchase of business net of cash acquired 652 12903
purchase of property plant and equipment 6915 4453
sale of property plant and equipment 1907 602
net cash used in investing activities 5660 16754
cash flows from financing activities  
movement in bank loans and loan notes 2225 9392
finance lease rental drawdownspayments 5850 2617
equity dividends paid – 160
new shares issued – 20
net cash used ingenerated from financing activities 8075 6635
net decrease in cash and cash equivalents 969 763
cash and cash equivalents at start of period 668 95
cash and cash equivalents at end of period 18 1637 668
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements  consolidated statement of changes in equity  
attributable to equity holders of the parent 
 
 sceptre leisure plc 29 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
restated 
29 april 2008 
share capital 
£000 
share premium 
account
£000
merger reserve
£000
retained 
earnings
£000
equity 
attributable to 
equity holders of 
the parent 
£000 
minority 
interest
£000
total equity
£000
at 30 april 2007 
restated – see note 5 3 18 104 1094 1219 – 1219
profit for the financial year 
as previously reported – – – 1792 1792 11 1803
prior year adjustment 
see note 5 – – – 265 265 5 270
taxation effect of prior year 
adjustment see note 5 – – – 75 75 1 76
dividends – ––160160 –160
issue of shares in the year 
and net premium – 20 – – 20 – 20
at 29 april 2008 restated 3 38 104 2536 2681 7 2688
 
30 april 2009 
share capital 
£000 
share premium 
account
£000
merger reserve
£000
retained 
earnings
£000
equity 
attributable to 
equity holders of 
the parent 
£000 
minority 
interest
£000
total equity
£000
at 29 april 2008 restated 3 38 104 2536 2681 7 2688
adjustments arising from 
reverse acquisition 4551 135 2436 – 2250 – 2250
profit for the financial year – – – 1127 1127 33 1160
employee sharebased 
payments – – – 97 97 – 97
taxation effect of employee 
sharebased payment – – – 27 27 – 27
at 30 april 2009 4554 173 2332 3733 6128 40 6168
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements  notes 
forming part of the financial statements 
30 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
1 accounting policies 
basis of preparation 
sceptre leisure plc is a company incorporated and domiciled in the uk  
these financial statements were authorised for issue by the board of directors on 7 october 2009 
the group financial statements consolidate those of the company and its subsidiaries together referred to as the ‘group’  
the parent company financial statements present information about the company as a separate entity and not about its group 
the group financial statements have been prepared and approved by the directors in accordance with international financial 
reporting standards as adopted by the eu ‘adopted ifrss’ the company has elected to prepare its parent company financial 
statements in accordance with uk gaap these are presented on pages 59 to 65 
the accounting policies set out below have unless otherwise stated been applied consistently to all periods presented in these 
group financial statements  
judgements made by the directors in the application of these accounting policies that have significant effect on the financial 
statements and estimates with a significant risk of material adjustment in the next year are discussed in note 33 
going concern 
the group meets its daytoday working capital requirements from a bank loan and overdraft facility together with an asset finance 
facility see notes 20–21 of the overdraft facility of £3m which was formally renewable on 1 october 2009 the group had utilised 
£24m at 30 april 2009 while the overdraft facility has yet to be formally renewed it is still being made available to the group  
in discussions with lloyds banking group a representative has also verbally confirmed that they consider the company “credit 
stable” under the basel ii framework and recognise the fact that profitability continues to increase 
the asset finance facility is available to partfinance the purchase of machines and the group had utilised £72m at 30 april 2009 
new asset funding sources have been confirmed and added to the group facility since the year end 
in addition subsequent to the year end on 3 july 2009 the company issued new shares for cash consideration of £55m see note 
32 this money was raised from a supportive party who has verbally indicated that additional debt funding would be made available
should the company require it 
subsequent to the year end trading has been positive the group has continued its capital expenditure programme and together 
with the £55m received from the share issue the overdraft facility is £27m as at 30 september 2009 with asset financing of £58m 
the bank loan is made available subject to a number of covenant tests notably in respect of interest cover gearing and debt 
servicing cover in accordance with the terms of the existing facility the interest cover covenant ratio became tighter from  
1 may 2009 and is due to tighten further from 1 november 2009 at the date of authorisation of these financial statements  
the group was not in breach of any of these covenants and continues to make interest and capital payments in accordance with 
their terms 
the directors have prepared trading and cash flow forecasts for a period in excess of one year from the date of approval of  
these financial statements the forecasts make assumptions in respect of future trading conditions and in particular the directors’ 
estimates of growth in the number of machines placed the post year end growth and the forecast growth in the number of 
machines will require additional working capital in excess of the facilities currently available this is the normal model that  
the group works to and it has the ability to reduce the level of growth and hence capital required should additional funds not  
be available 
however those forecasts indicate that as a result of the tightening of the interest cover covenant ratio explained above the group 
is likely to breach this covenant in the foreseeable future unless it is reset a breach of covenants would technically result in the 
loan becoming repayable on demand 
in light of the current economic environment the directors have also prepared sensitised forecasts however the revenue derived 
from each machine is relatively fixed and any reduction in forecast growth would potentially reduce the directors’ forecast of the 
required facilities 
in light of the directors’ forecasts and as further explained in the business review on pages 6 to 19 the group has commenced 
discussions with its bankers with the objective of 
• formally renewing the group’s existing overdraft facility at the existing value of £3m these facilities were last renewed  
on 1 october 2008 
• obtaining additional facilities suitable for the group’s needs in order to provide further growth capital for the business 
• amending the interest cover covenant ratios suitable for the group’s needs   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 31 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
1 accounting policies continued 
those discussions which are progressing positively have been held up by consolidation of personnel within the lloyds banking 
group it is expected that these discussions will be concluded favourably within the next few weeks  
should sufficient funding not be agreed with the bank the directors have identified and verbally agreed alternative sources of 
funding for their growth plans but have not yet secured a legally binding commitment 
the directors have concluded that the above circumstances represent a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt upon 
the group and the company’s ability to continue as a going concern nevertheless after making enquiries and considering the 
uncertainties described above the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group and the company will have adequate 
resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future for these reasons they continue to adopt a going concern 
basis in preparing the annual report and accounts 
measurement convention 
the financial statements are prepared on the historical cost basis except that derivative financial instruments are stated at their  
fair value 
basis of consolidation 
reverse acquisition accounting 
the financial statements of the group for the year ended 30 april 2009 comprise sceptre leisure plc ‘company’ – formerly 
gamingking plc and its subsidiaries together referred to as the ‘group’ 
on 29 september 2008 the company then named gamingking plc became the legal parent company of orb holdings limited 
parent company of sceptre leisure solutions limited in a share for share transaction due to the relative values of the companies 
the former orb holdings limited shareholders became the majority shareholders with 85 of the enlarged share capital following 
the transaction the company’s continuing operations and executive management were predominantly those of orb holdings 
limited accordingly the substance of the combination was that orb holdings limited acquired gamingking plc in a reverse 
acquisition as part of the business combination gamingking plc changed its name to sceptre leisure plc 
as a consequence of applying reverse acquisition accounting the results of the group at 30 april 2009 comprise the results of orb 
holdings limited for the year ended 30 april 2009 and those of gamingking plc from 29 september 2008 the comparative figures 
for the group are those of orb holdings limited for the year ended 29 april 2008 the fair values of gamingking plc’s assets and 
liabilities as at 29 september 2008 have been consolidated as set out in note 15 
the comparative figures for the financial year ended 29 april 2008 are not the company’s consolidated statutory accounts for  
that financial year but are derived from the accounts of orb holdings limited the 2008 consolidated results were prepared in 
accordance with euifrss and were presented in the admission document dated 2 september 2008 
the accounts for the financial year ended 30 april 2008 which were prepared under uk gaap and which prior to the reverse 
acquisition dealt with the basis of gamingking plc in a full 12 months have been reported on by the then auditor grant thornton 
llp and delivered to the registrar of companies 
subsidiaries 
subsidiaries are entities controlled by the group control exists when the group has the power directly or indirectly to govern the 
financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities in assessing control potential voting rights 
that are currently exercisable or convertible are taken into account the financial statements of subsidiaries are included in the 
consolidated financial statements from the date that control commences until the date that control ceases  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
32 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
1 accounting policies continued 
functional currency 
the presentational currency adopted by the group is sterling £ the functional currency of all group companies is sterling £ 
classification of financial instruments issued by the group 
following the adoption of ias 32 financial instruments issued by the group are treated as equity only to the extent that they meet 
the following two conditions  
a they include no contractual obligations upon the group to deliver cash or other financial assets or to exchange financial assets 
or financial liabilities with another party under conditions that are potentially unfavourable to the group and  
b where the instrument will or may be settled in the company’s own equity instruments it is either a nonderivative that includes 
no obligation to deliver a variable number of the company’s own equity instruments or is a derivative that will be settled by the 
company exchanging a fixed amount of cash or other financial assets for a fixed number of its own equity instruments 
to the extent that this definition is not met the proceeds of issue are classified as a financial liability where the instrument so 
classified takes the legal form of the company’s own shares the amounts presented in these financial statements for called up 
share capital and share premium account exclude amounts in relation to those shares  
nonderivative financial instruments 
nonderivative financial instruments comprise investments in equity and debt securities trade and other receivables cash and cash 
equivalents loans and borrowings and trade and other payables 
trade and other receivables 
trade and other receivables are recognised initially at historical cost subsequent to initial recognition they are measured at 
historical cost less any impairment losses an assessment of whether a trade or other receivable is impaired is made at each 
reporting date for receivables this is based on the latest credit information available ie recent counterparty defaults and external 
credit information financial assets that are substantially past due are also considered for impairment 
trade and other payables 
trade and other payables are recognised at historical cost 
cash and cash equivalents 
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and call deposits bank overdrafts that are repayable on demand and form an 
integral part of the group’s cash management are included as a component of cash and cash equivalents for the purpose only of the 
cash flow statement 
interestbearing borrowings 
interestbearing borrowings are recognised when the group becomes a party to the contractual agreements of the instrument  
all interestrelated charges are included in the income statement line item ‘finance costs’   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 33 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
1 accounting policies continued 
property plant and equipment 
property plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses 
where parts of an item of property plant and equipment have different useful lives they are accounted for as separate items of 
property plant and equipment 
leases in which the group assumes substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the leased asset are classified as finance 
leases leased assets acquired by way of finance lease are stated at an amount equal to the lower of their fair value and the present 
value of the minimum lease payments at inception of the lease less accumulated depreciation and less accumulated impairment 
losses lease payments are accounted for as described below 
depreciation is charged to the income statement on a straightline basis over the estimated useful lives of each part of an item of 
property plant and equipment the estimated useful lives are as follows 
• short leasehold property  over the life of the lease 
• plant and machinery   2–7 years 
• fixtures fittings and equipment  3 years 
•motor vehicles    3 years 
• depreciation methods useful lives and residual values are reviewed at each balance sheet date 
intangible assets and goodwill 
goodwill 
all business combinations are accounted for by applying the purchase method goodwill represents the difference between the cost 
of the acquisition and the net fair value of the identifiable assets liabilities and contingent liabilities acquired identifiable intangibles 
are those which can be sold separately or which arise from legal rights regardless of whether those rights are separable 
goodwill is stated at cost less any accumulated impairment losses goodwill is allocated to cashgenerating units and is not 
amortised but is tested annually for impairment in respect of equity accounted investees the carrying amount of goodwill is 
included in the carrying amount of the investment in the investee 
negative goodwill arising on an acquisition is recognised immediately in profit or loss 
customer contracts and relationships 
on business combinations where there are legally binding machine rental contracts with customers the group initially recognises 
those contracts at fair value by reference to the incremental contribution inherent in those contracts the incremental contribution 
is calculated by reference to incremental profits cost savings or cash flows that accrue to the group as compared to those profits 
cost savings and cash flows that would accrue without the acquired customer contracts and relationships 
the customer contracts and relationships acquired in the crown leisure limited acquisition are being amortised over 18 years being 
the estimated useful economic life of the asset the customer contracts and relationships acquired in the gamingking plc reverse 
acquisition are being amortised over 20 years being the estimated useful economic life of the asset 
other intangible assets 
expenditure on internally generated goodwill and brands is recognised in the income statement as an expense as incurred 
other intangible assets that are acquired by the group are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated 
impairment losses 
amortisation  
amortisation is charged to the income statement on a straightline basis over the estimated useful lives of intangible assets unless 
such lives are indefinite intangible assets with an indefinite useful life and goodwill are systematically tested for impairment at each 
balance sheet date other intangible assets are amortised from the date they are available for use the estimated useful lives are  
as follows 
• customer contracts and relationships 18–20 years 
•brand names     25 years  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
34 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
1 accounting policies continued 
inventories 
inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value for finished goods cost is taken as cost incurred to date which 
includes an appropriate proportion of directly attributable overheads net realisable value is determined as estimated selling price 
less all costs of completion 
provision is made where necessary for obsolete slow moving inventory where it is deemed that the costs incurred may not  
be recoverable 
impairment excluding inventories and deferred tax assets 
the carrying amounts of the group’s assets are reviewed at each balance sheet date to determine whether there is any indication 
of impairment a financial asset is considered to be impaired if objective evidence indicates that one or more events have had  
a negative effect on the estimated future cash flows of that asset if any such indication exists the asset’s recoverable amount  
is estimated  
for goodwill assets that have an indefinite useful life and intangible assets that are not yet available for use the recoverable 
amount is estimated at each balance sheet date 
an impairment loss is recognised whenever the carrying amount of an asset or its cashgenerating unit exceeds its recoverable 
amount impairment losses are recognised in the income statement 
impairment losses recognised in respect of cashgenerating units are allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill 
allocated to cashgenerating units and then to reduce the carrying amount of the other assets in the unit on a pro rata basis  
a cashgenerating unit is the smallest identifiable group of assets that generates cash inflows that are largely independent of the 
cash inflows from other assets or groups of assets 
goodwill and any other intangible assets that have an indefinite useful economic life are tested annually for impairment 
when a decline in the fair value of an availableforsale financial asset has been recognised directly in equity and there is objective 
evidence that the asset is impaired the cumulative loss that had been recognised directly in equity is recognised in profit or loss 
even though the financial asset has not been derecognised the amount of the cumulative loss that is recognised in profit or loss is 
the difference between the acquisition cost and current fair value less any impairment loss on that financial asset previously 
recognised in profit or loss 
calculation of recoverable amount 
the recoverable amount of the group’s investments in heldtomaturity securities and receivables carried at amortised cost is 
calculated as the present value of estimated future cash flows discounted at the original effective interest rate ie the effective 
interest rate computed at initial recognition of these financial assets receivables with a short duration are not discounted 
the recoverable amount of other assets is the greater of their fair values less costs to sell and value in use in assessing value in 
use the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pretax discount rate that reflects current market 
assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset  
for an asset that does not generate largely independent cash inflows the recoverable amount is determined for the cash
generating unit to which the asset belongs 
reversals of impairment 
an impairment loss in respect of a heldtomaturity security or receivable carried at amortised cost is reversed if the subsequent 
increase in recoverable amount can be related objectively to an event occurring after the impairment loss was recognised 
an impairment loss in respect of an investment in an equity instrument classified as availableforsale is not reversed through profit 
or loss if the fair value of a debt instrument classified as availableforsale increases and the increase can be objectively related to 
an event occurring after the impairment loss was recognised in profit or loss the impairment loss is reversed through profit or loss 
an impairment loss in respect of goodwill is not reversed  
in respect of other assets an impairment loss is reversed when there is an indication that the impairment loss may no longer exist 
and there has been a change in the estimates used to determine the recoverable amount 
an impairment loss is reversed only to the extent that the asset’s carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would 
have been determined net of depreciation or amortisation if no impairment loss had been recognised   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 35 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
1 accounting policies continued 
employee benefits 
defined contribution plans 
a defined contribution plan is a postemployment benefit plan under which the company pays fixed contributions into a separate 
entity and will have no legal or constructive obligation to pay further amounts obligations for contributions to defined contribution 
pension plans are recognised as an expense in the income statement as incurred 
shortterm benefits 
shortterm employee benefit obligations are measured on an undiscounted basis and are expensed as the related service is 
provided a liability is recognised for the amount expected to be paid under shortterm cash bonus or profitsharing plans if the 
group has a present legal or constructive obligation to pay this amount as a result of past service provided by the employee and the 
obligation can be estimated reliably 
sharebased payment transactions 
the grant date fair value of options granted to employees is recognised as an employee expense with a corresponding increase in 
equity over the period in which the employees become unconditionally entitled to the options the fair value of the options granted 
is measured using an option valuation model taking into account the terms and conditions upon which the options were granted 
the amount recognised as an expense is adjusted to reflect the actual number of share options that vest except where forfeiture is 
due only to share prices not achieving the threshold for vesting 
the fair value of the amount payable to employees in respect of share appreciation rights which are settled in cash is recognised 
as an expense with a corresponding increase in liabilities over the period in which the employees become unconditionally entitled 
to payment the liability is remeasured at each balance sheet date and at settlement date any changes in the fair value of the 
liability are recognised as personnel expense in profit or loss  
provisions 
a provision is recognised in the balance sheet when the group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of a past 
event that can be reliably measured and it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation 
provisions are determined by discounting the expected future cash flows at a pretax rate that reflects risks specific to the liability  
revenue 
revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts for goods supplied and 
services provided by the group excluding intragroup transactions and value added tax 
machine sales 
revenue is recognised when goods are delivered to customers 
machine rental 
revenue is recognised on a weekly basis for machines placed at customers’ premises 
goods 
revenue from the sale of goods is recognised at the point of delivery to the customer  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
36 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
1 accounting policies continued 
expenses 
operating lease payments 
payments made under operating leases are recognised in the income statement on a straightline basis over the term of the lease 
lease incentives received are recognised in the income statement as an integral part of the total lease expense 
finance lease payments 
minimum lease payments are apportioned between the finance charge and the reduction of the outstanding liability the finance 
charge is allocated to each period during the lease term so as to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining 
balance of the liability 
finance income and cost 
finance expense comprises interest payable finance charges on finance leases and decreases in the fair value of derivative 
financial instruments finance income comprises interest receivable on funds invested and increases in the fair value of derivative 
financial instruments 
interest income and interest payable is recognised in profit or loss as it accrues using the effective interest method dividend 
income is recognised in the income statement on the date the entity’s right to receive payments is established foreign currency 
gains and losses are reported on a net basis 
exceptional items 
exceptional items are those that in management’s view need to be disclosed by virtue of their size or incidence such items are 
included on the income statement under a caption to which they relate and are separately disclosed in the notes to the 
consolidated financial statements  
taxation 
tax on the profit or loss for the year comprises current and deferred tax tax is recognised in the income statement except to the 
extent that it relates to items recognised directly in equity in which case it is recognised in equity 
current tax is the expected tax payable on the taxable income for the year using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the 
balance sheet date and any adjustment to tax payable in respect of previous years 
deferred tax is provided on temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting 
purposes and the amounts used for taxation purposes the following temporary differences are not provided for the initial 
recognition of goodwill the initial recognition of assets or liabilities that affect neither accounting nor taxable profit other than in  
a business combination and differences relating to investments in subsidiaries to the extent that they will probably not reverse in 
the foreseeable future the amount of deferred tax provided is based on the expected manner of realisation or settlement of the 
carrying amount of assets and liabilities using tax rates enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date 
a deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profits will be available against which the 
temporary difference can be utilised  
adopted ifrs not yet applied 
the following adopted ifrss were available for early application but have not been applied by the group in these financial 
statements their adoption is not expected to have a material affect on the financial statements unless otherwise indicated 
ias 1 ‘presentation of financial statements’ – revision this revision aims to assist users in their ability to analyse and compare the 
information given in the financial statements changes include changes to titles of some of the financial statements and changes to 
the components of financial statements the revision is effective for periods commencing on or after 1 january 2009 
ias 23 ‘borrowing costs’ – revision this revision eliminates the option to expense borrowing costs to the income statement as 
incurred and is effective for periods commencing on or after 1 january 2009 management do not believe this revision will have a 
significant impact on the group   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 37 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
1 accounting policies continued 
adopted ifrs not yet applied continued 
ias 27 ‘consolidated and separate financial statements’ – revision the revision is part of the second phase of the business 
combinations project between the international accounting standards board and the us financial accounting standards board  
the main amendments relate to the accounting for minority interests and the loss of control of a subsidiary the revision is effective 
for periods commencing on or after 1 july 2009 the directors do not believe the adoption of this revision will have a significant 
impact on the business  
ias 32 ‘financial instruments presentation’ – revision this revision requires certain puttable financial instruments and certain 
financial instruments that impose an obligation on the entity to deliver a pro rata share of the net assets of the entity on liquidation 
to be classified as equity the revision is effective for periods commencing on or after 1 january 2009 the directors do not believe 
the adoption of this revision will have an impact on the business 
ifrs 2 ‘sharebased payment’ – revision this revision relates to vesting conditions and cancellations including amendments to the 
guidance and definitions of vesting conditions and cancellations and clarification of the accounting treatment of nonvesting 
conditions the revision is effective for periods commencing on or after 1 january 2009 the directors do not believe the adoption 
of this revision will have an impact on the business 
ifrs 3 ‘business combinations’ – revision the revision is part of the second phase of the business combinations project between 
the international accounting standards board and the us financial accounting standards board the main changes include the 
scope accounting for acquisition costs and post acquisition changes to contingent consideration accounting for goodwill and 
accounting for business combinations achieved in stages there is additional guidance on recognition and measurement of fair 
values and on determining what is part of the business combination transaction there are also a number of changes to disclosure 
requirements the revision is effective for periods commencing on or after 1 july 2009 the directors will consider the requirements 
of the revision on any future business acquisitions  
ifrs 8 ‘operating segments’ was issued in november 2007 and is effective for periods beginning on or after 1 january 2009  
as the changes are presentational only the adoption will have no impact upon the results or net assets of the group 
ifric 12 ‘service concession arrangements’ ifric 13 ‘customer loyalty programmes’ ifric 14 ‘ias 19 – the limit on a defined benefit 
asset minimum funding requirements and their interaction’ ifric 15 ‘agreements for the construction of real estate’ and ifric 16 
‘hedges of a net investment in a foreign operation’ are predicted to have no impact on the group 
2 revenue 
revenue 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
equipment sales 307 404
machine rental 36361 20950
sale of lottery indoor gaming and leisure products 2537 –
total revenues 39205 21354
  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
38 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
3 segmental report 
the board of directors manages the group in three business segments  
• machine sales and rental 
• the sale of lottery indoor gaming and other products and 
• the operation of lotteries on behalf of charities 
during the period under review over 90 of the group’s activities related to machine sales and rental and therefore the remaining 
segments have been consolidated due to materiality during the prior period all activity was attributable to one business segment 
that of machine sales and rental and the 2008 comparative figures are therefore not analysed by segment 
all revenue reported in the period under review arose within the united kingdom 
segment performance is monitored monthly as part of the management reporting process the financial performance for each 
segment is analysed and consolidation adjustments to reach the group results are shown separately information for the year 
ended 30 april 2009 is shown below 
segmental analysis 
machine sales 
and rental
£000
other
£000
central 
corporate  
costs 
£000 
2009
group
£000
2008
group
£000
revenue 36668 2537 – 39205 21354
gross profit 9746 1391 – 11137 5259
operating profit 4225 214 522 3489 2681
segment assets 33075 5258 – 38333 27896
segment liabilities 30438 1727 – 32165 25208
other segment information  
capital expenditure note 14 14481 362 – 14843 9808
intangible assets – additions note 13  – 2964 – 2964 2165
purchase of subsidiary – 652 – 652 12903
depreciation note 14 8829 173 – 9002 5242
amortisation note 13 120 86 – 206 60
recognition of negative goodwill note 15 – – – – 979
equitysettled share options note 25 38 20 39 97 –
finance lossgain on derivative financial instruments 
note 9 421 – – – 7
4 exceptional items 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
restructuring and redundancy  118 228
provision for rentals and business rates on onerous leases 47 –
professional and financial expenses relating to corporate restructuring 71 –
recognition of negative goodwill on acquisition – 979
exceptional items costcredit 236 751
5 prior year adjustment 
during the year the company identified that certain costs of sale were hitherto accounted for in the wrong period this has been 
corrected by restatement of the 2008 comparatives included in these financial statements the effect of this restatement is to 
increase cost of sales by £270000 reduce profit before tax for 2008 by £270000 reduce the tax expense for 2008 by £76000 
increase trade creditors by £270000 and reduce net assets as at 29 april 2008 by £194000 an adjustment of £47000 has also 
been made to retained earnings as at 1 may 2007 to correct the impact on earlier periods   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 39 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
6 expenses and auditors’ remuneration 
included in profitloss are the following 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
depreciation and amounts written off property plant and equipment 
owned assets 6989 4232
leased assets 2013 1009
amortisation of brand names customer contracts and relationships 206 60
recognition of negative goodwill on acquisition note 15 – 979
operating lease charges property rentals 359 118
operating lease charges other 315 54
property lease charges above are stated net of sublet income the amount of which was not material during 2009 2008 £nil 
auditors’ remuneration 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
audit services 
audit of these financial statements 14 3
other services 
audit of financial statements of subsidiaries pursuant to legislation 26 19
tax services 
advisory services 10 6
compliance services 10 3
corporate finance services 
other costs 125 70
 185 101
amounts paid to the company’s auditors and their associates in respect of services to the company other than the audit of the 
company’s financial statements have not been disclosed as the information is required instead to be disclosed on a consolidated basis 
7 staff numbers and costs 
the average number of persons employed by the group including directors during the year analysed by category was as follows 
 
30 april 2009
number
29 april 2008
number
administration and management 136 93
other operatives 278 250
 414 343
the aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
wages and salaries 7267 3694
social security costs 675 393
pension costs 111 57
 8053 4144
key management 
the aggregate compensation of key management including executive directors is shown below 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
salaries and shortterm employee benefits 624 559
post employment benefits 56 47
total emoluments 680 606 notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
40 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
7 staff numbers and costs continued 
directors’ remuneration  
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
emoluments 377 430
money purchase pension contributions 25 38
sums paid to third parties for directors’ services 47 –
total emoluments 449 468
£46681 2008 24314 was paid to vz limited in respect of services provided to the group by mr g van zwanenberg vz limited is 
controlled by mr g van zwanenberg a director of sceptre leisure plc 
directors’ emoluments disclosed above include the following payments 
highest paid director 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
emoluments 106 195
money purchase pension contributions 11 19
total emoluments 117 214
 
the number of directors to whom retirement benefits are accruing under 
30 april 2009
number
29 april 2008
number
money purchase pension schemes 3 4
8 finance income 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
increase in fair value of derivative financial instruments – 7
9 finance costs 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
on bank loans loan notes and overdrafts 1007 619
on finance leases  479 272
decrease in fair value of derivative financial instruments 421 –
 1907 891
10 taxation  
recognised in the income statement £000
30 april 2009 
£000 £000
restated
29 april 2008
£000
current tax expense  
current year 1099 7
adjustments for prior years – 51
current tax expense 1099 44
deferred tax expense  
origination and reversal of temporary differences 684 235
adjustments in respect of previous years 88 12
effect of prior year adjustment 95 –
effect of tax rate change – 14
deferred tax expense 677 233
total tax expense 422 189
   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 41 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
10 taxation continued 
reconciliation of effective tax rate 
30 april 2009
£000
restated
29 april 2008
£000
profit before tax 1582 1797
profit before tax multiplied by standard rate of corporation tax in the uk of 28 2008 28  443 503
effects of 
expenses not deductible for tax purposes 53 32
income not taxable – 274
fixed asset differences – 16
adjustments in respect of previous years 116 39
losses carried forward 45 –
small company relief 3 3
effect of tax rate change – 14
total tax expense 422 189
11 dividends 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
equity 
ordinary shares 
 – 2008 interim 627p per share – 160
 – 2009 interim 0p per share – –
  – 160
the directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend in respect of the current year 
12 earnings per ordinary share 
the calculations of earnings per share are based on the following profits and number of shares 
 
basic
30 april 2009
£000
diluted 
30 april 2009 
£000 
restated
basic
29 april 2008
£000
restated
diluted
29 april 2008
£000
profit for the financial year 1127 1127 1602 1602
additional disclosures  
exceptional administrative expenses 236 236 751 751
taxation effect of exceptional administrative expenses 66 66 68 68
profit for the financial year before exceptional expenses 1297 1297 783 783
 
 
30 april 2009
number of 
shares
29 april 2008
number of 
shares
weighted average number of shares 
for basic earnings per share 36354494 32945762
share options 1793980 –
for diluted earnings per share 38148474 32945762
  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
42 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
12 earnings per ordinary share continued 
the group’s earnings per share are as follows  
 
30 april 2009
pence
restated
29 april 2008
pence
– basic 31 49
– diluted 30 49
– basic before exceptional expenses 36 24
as stated in note 1 the directors have adopted reverse acquisition accounting under ifrs 3 for the period under review to enable a 
meaningful comparison and in accordance with ifrs 3 the weighted average number of shares for the periods has been calculated 
as follows 
for the period ended 29 april 2008 the weighted average number of shares has been based on the 32945762 new shares issued 
on 29 september 2008 as part of the acquisition of orb holdings limited by gamingking plc 
for the year ended 30 april 2009 the 5813958 shares attributable to gamingking plc have been included for the period beginning 
29 september 2008 in order to calculate a weighted average number of shares in issue for the year for the group 
the total number of shares in issue at 30 april 2009 was 38759720   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 43 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
13 intangible assets 
goodwill
£000
customer 
contracts and 
relationships 
£000 
brand 
names
£000
total
£000
cost  
balance at 1 may 2007 61 – – 61
additions –2165 –2165
balance at 29 april 2008 61 2165 – 2226
balance at 30 april 2008 61 2165 – 2226
acquisitions through business combinations – 2464 500 2964
balance at 30 april 2009 61 4629 500 5190
amortisation and impairment  
balance at 1 may 2007 – – – –
charged in the year – 60 – 60
balance at 29 april 2008 – 60 – 60
balance at 30 april 2008 – 60 – 60
charged in the year – 192 14 206
balance at 30 april 2009 – 252 14 266
net book value  
at 1 may 2007 61 – – 61
at 29 april 2008 and 30 april 2008 61 2105 – 2166
at 30 april 2009 61 4377 486 4924
goodwill impairment 
goodwill acquired in a business combination is allocated to the cashgenerating units that are expected to benefit from that 
business combination 
goodwill is not amortised but is tested annually for impairment to the extent that the carrying value of the cashgenerating unit 
exceeds the value in use determined from estimated discounted future net cash flows goodwill is written down to the value in use 
and an impairment charge is recognised 
during the year goodwill was tested for impairment in accordance with ias 36 ‘impairment of assets’ the recoverable amount for 
the cashgenerating unit exceeded the carrying amount of goodwill recorded the recoverable amount for the cashgenerating unit 
has been measured on a value in use calculation 
the key assumptions for the value in use calculation performed for a fiveyear period are those regarding the discount rates 
growth rates and expected changes to selling price and direct costs during the period a growth rate of 1 2008 1 was used  
in the calculation over the fiveyear period a pretax discount rate of 11 2008 9 was used in the value in use calculation 
changes in selling prices and direct costs are based on management’s expectations of future changes in the market  
the assumptions used in these calculations have historically proved to be materially accurate  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
44 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
14 property plant and equipment 
short leasehold 
property
£000
plant and 
machinery
£000
fixtures fittings 
and equipment 
£000 
motor vehicles
£000
total
£000
cost  
balance at 1 may 2007 22 6438 208 337 7005
acquisitions –12313308 –12621
additions 1637821441 13839808
disposals –2190– 272217
balance at 29 april 2008 185 24382 957 1693 27217
balance at 30 april 2008 185 24382 957 1693 27217
acquisitions –96754 131034
additions 6813886208 68114843
disposals –3313– 13054618
balance at 30 april 2009 253 35922 1219 1082 38476
depreciation  
balance at 1 may 2007 13 1640 144 70 1867
charged in the year 17 4905 90 230 5242
disposals –1612– 121624
balance at 29 april 2008 30 4933 234 288 5485
balance at 30 april 2008 30 4933 234 288 5485
charged in the year 42 8351 296 313 9002
disposals –2532– 3332865
balance at 30 april 2009 72 10752 530 268 11622
net book value  
at 1 may 2007 9 4798 64 267 5138
at 29 april 2008 and 30 april 2008 155 19449 723 1405 21732
at 30 april 2009 181 25170 689 814 26854
the net book value of plant and machinery includes £8537000 2008 £3163000 in respect of assets held under finance leases 
depreciation for the year on these assets was £1742000 2008 £755000 
the net book value of fixtures fittings and equipment includes £118000 2008 £228000 in respect of assets held under finance 
leases depreciation for the year on these assets was £79000 2008 £24000 
the net book value of motor vehicles includes £801000 2008 £1405000 in respect of assets held under finance leases 
depreciation for the year on these assets was £79000 2008 £230000   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 45 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
15 acquisitions 
reverse takeover of gamingking plc 
on 29 september 2008 the group acquired gamingking plc in a shareforshare transaction that is fully explained in note 1  
the consideration for the acquisition is set out below 
fair value at date 
of acquisition
£000
shares in sceptre leisure plc 2252
5813958 ordinary shares of 5p each issued at 387p 
consideration 2252
acquisition expenses 712
total consideration 2964
 
initial book value 
at date of 
acquisition 
£000 
fair value 
adjustment
£000
fair value at date 
of acquisition
£000
intangible assets 1281 1683 2964
property plant and equipment  1034 – 1034
deferred taxation 221 – 221
inventories 290 – 290
trade and other receivables 573 – 573
cash and cash equivalents 60 – 60
total assets 3459 1683 5142
trade and other payables 1348 – 1348
deferred taxation 33 797 830
total liabilities 1381 797 2178
net assets 2078 886 2964
fair value of consideration paid including transaction and adviser costs of £712000  2964
goodwill on acquisition  –
as disclosed in note 1 having applied reverse acquisition accounting the fair value of gamingking plc’s assets and liabilities on 
acquisition were consolidated into the group’s financial statements as shown above the consolidated cash flow statement shows 
the value of the consideration paid including transaction and adviser costs of £712000 net of cash acquired of £60000 
the acquired business contributed revenues of £25m and loss before tax of £01m to the group for the period from the date of 
acquisition to 30 april 2009 if the acquisition had occurred on 1 may 2008 group revenue would have been £410m and profit 
before tax would have been £12m these amounts have been calculated using the group’s accounting policies 
fair value adjustment 
under ifrs 3 at the date of acquisition a value has been applied to identifiable intangible assets that would otherwise have been 
consumed within goodwill the fair value adjustment to intangible assets relates to the value of acquired customer contracts and 
related relationships  
the fair value adjustment to deferred taxation relates to the recognition of the customer contracts and related relationships asset  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
46 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
15 acquisitions continued 
crown leisure 
on 12 october 2007 the group acquired the trade and certain assets of the singlesite division of crown leisure limited  
the consideration for the acquisition is set out below 
fair value at date 
of acquisition
£000
loan notes 2175
new shares in sceptre leisure solutions limited 1
10204 ordinary shares of 10p each issued at par 
cash 12632
consideration 14808
acquisition expenses 297
total consideration 15105
the issue of new shares in sceptre leisure solutions limited to crown leisure limited gave that company a 2 minority interest in 
sceptre leisure solutions limited amounting to £11000 at 29 april 2008 the par value of the shares was deemed to equate to fair 
value at the date of issue 
initial book value 
at date of 
acquisition 
£000 
fair value 
adjustment
£000
fair value at date 
of acquisition
£000
intangible assets – 2165 2165
property plant and equipment  13204 583 12621
inventories 614 126 488
trade and other receivables 1784 334 1450
cash and cash equivalents 47 21 26
total assets 15649 1101 16750
trade and other payables 77 – 77
deferred taxation – 589 589
total liabilities 77 589 666
net assets 15572 512 16084
negative goodwill of £979000 being the difference between the fair value of net assets acquired and consideration paid arose 
from this transaction this negative goodwill was recognised in full in the income statement for the period ended 29 april 2008  
as a component of administrative expenses 
fair value adjustment 
under ifrs 3 at the date of acquisition a value was applied to identifiable intangible assets that would otherwise have been 
consumed within goodwill the fair value adjustment to intangible assets relates to the value of acquired customer contracts and 
related relationships 
the fair value adjustments to property plant and equipment inventories and trade and other receivables relate to net realisable 
value provisions the fair value adjustment to cash and cash equivalents relates to differences identified in cash floats within 
acquired amusement machines  
the fair value adjustment to deferred taxation relates to the recognition of the customer contracts and related relationships asset   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 47 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
16 inventories 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
consumables 857 585
goods for resale 235 –
 1092 585
in 2009 inventories recognised as cost of sales amounted to £17m 2008 £05m during the year an inventory impairment 
provision totalling £9000 was reversed 2008 £nil this reversal is included in cost of sales 
17 trade and other receivables 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
current assets 
trade receivables 2129 1251
other receivables 244 301
prepayments and accrued income 2371 1385
current taxation – 20
 4744 2957
18 cash and cash equivalents 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
current assets 
cash at bank 719 449
current liabilities 
bank overdraft 2356 1117
 1637 668
19 trade and other payables 
 
30 april 2009
£000
restated
29 april 2008
£000
current liabilities 
trade payables 5501 3517
other taxation and social security costs 2559 629
other payables 1382 706
accruals and deferred income 923 479
 10365 5331
noncurrent liabilities 
other payables 468 433
20 current financial liabilities  
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
bank overdraft 2356 1117
bank loans 2100 1800
unsecured loan notes 675 –
finance leases 5099 3157
 10230 6074
  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
48 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
21 noncurrent financial liabilities  
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
bank loans 6200 8300
unsecured loan notes 1500 2175
finance leases 2072 1936
 9772 12411
the fair value of current and noncurrent bank loans and loan notes based on a discounted cash flow analysis of future repayments 
based on currently available borrowing terms and interest rates is £10324000 2008 £12331000 
bank loans are secured by fixed and floating charges over the assets of the group 
the fair value of current and noncurrent finance leases based on a discounted cash flow analysis of future repayments based on 
currently available borrowing terms and interest rates is £6765000 2008 £5025000 
finance lease liabilities 
finance lease liabilities are payable as follows 
 
minimum lease 
payments
30 april 2009 
£000
interest
30 april 2009
£000
principal
30 april 2009
£000
minimum lease 
payments 
29 april 2008 
£000 
interest
29 april 2008
£000
principal
29 april 2008
£000
less than one year 5592 493 5099 3474 317 3157
between one and five years 2351 279 2072 2179 243 1936
more than five years – – – – – –
 7943 772 7171 5653 560 5093
finance lease payments represent rentals payable by the group for certain of its plant and equipment leases have varying terms 
and renewal rights the above leasing arrangements do not contain any restrictive covenants contingent rents or purchase options 
22 deferred tax liability  
 
30 april 2009
£000
restated
29 april 2008
£000
at beginning of year 959 137
creditcharge for the year recognised in income statement 677 233
acquisitions 661 589
on items taken to equity 27 –
at end of year 916 959
the elements of the deferred tax liability are as follows 
assets liabilities net 
 
30 april 2009
£000
restated
29 april 2008
£000
30 april 2009
£000
restated 
29 april 2008 
£000 
30 april 2009
£000
restated
29 april 2008
£000
intangible assets – – 1290 589 1290 589
property plant and equipment 65 – – 469 65 469
other shortterm temporary differences 255 99 – – 255 99
employee sharebased payments 54 – – – 54 –
net tax assetsliabilities 374 99 1290 1058 916 959
the group has no unprovided deferred tax balances   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 49 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
23 derivative financial instrument 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
assets 
interest rate collars  – 7
liabilities 
interest rate collars 414 –
interest rate collars 
the group uses interest rate collars to manage its exposure to interest rate movements on its bank borrowings contracts  
covering notional amounts of £83m 2008 £101m restrict interest payments at rates between 470 and 575 for periods  
up to 28 september 2012 
the fair value of collars is estimated at £10000 2008 £56000 for the cap and a liability of £424000 2008 £49000 for  
the floor 
fair value is calculated by discounting future receipts and payments to present value using current interest rates the main 
assumption impacting on the future profile of receipts and payments under the collar is that relating to future movements in libor 
24 retirement benefits 
the group operates a defined contribution pension scheme whose assets are held separately from those of the group in 
independently administered funds the group also makes contributions to certain employees’ personal pension plans the assets for 
which schemes are also held separately from those of the group in independently administered funds  
the pension charge represents contributions payable in respect of the schemes by the group and amounted to £111000 2008 
£57000 contributions totalling £6000 2008 £31000 were payable to the funds at the year end and are included in accruals 
within trade and other payables 
25 sharebased payments 
on 2 november 2008 the company granted share options to directors and employees over a total of 3701658 ordinary shares of 
5p each as detailed and disclosed in the admission document dated 2 september 2008 the options are subject to the achievement 
of performance criteria as determined by the remuneration committee and as required under the rules of the company’s share 
option plan the options granted under the approved scheme vest on 31 october 2012 the options granted under the unapproved 
scheme vest on 31 october 2009 
the details of the grants are as follows 
directorsemployees entitled 
method of 
settlement 
accounting
number of 
instruments exercise period
kenneth turner equity 533333 31102009 – 31102018
lesley humphrys equity 400000 31102009 – 31102018
brian nichols equity 400000 31102009 – 31102018
douglas yates equity 111111 31102009 – 31102018
victor wardman equity 66667 31102009 – 31102018
guy van zwanenberg equity 111111 31102009 – 31102018
antony yates equity 244444 31102009 – 31102018
michelle yates equity 200000 31102009 – 31102018
mark white  equity 3111 11 31102009 – 31102018
others  equity 1323881 31102009 – 31102018
total  3701658 
  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
50 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
25 sharebased payments continued 
the number and weighted average exercise prices of share options are as follows 
weighted 
average 
exercise price
30 april 2009
number of 
options 
30 april 2009 
weighted 
average 
exercise price
29 april 2008
number of 
options
29 april 2008
outstanding at the beginning of the year – – ––
forfeited during the year 195p 83964 ––
exercised during the year – – ––
granted during the year 214p 3701658 ––
lapsed during the year – – ––
outstanding at the end of the year 214p 3617964 ––
exercisable at the end of the year – – ––
there were no share options exercised during the year 2008 nil 
the options outstanding at the year end have an exercise price in the range of 195p to 234p and a weighted average contractual 
life of 95 years 
the fair value of services received in return for share options granted are measured by reference to the fair value of share options 
granted the fair value of employee share options is measured using a blackscholes model measurement inputs and assumptions 
are as follows 
approved scheme unapproved scheme
30 april 2009 29 april 2008 30 april 2009 29 april 2008
fair value at measurement date 1071p – 726p –
weighted average exercise price 2023p – 2252p –
expected volatility expressed as  used in the modelling under  
blackscholes model 8560 – 7560 –
option life expressed as weighted average life used in the modelling 
under blackscholes model 4 years – 2 years –
expected dividends  200 – 000 –
riskfree interest rate based on national government bonds 115 – 115 –
the expected volatility is wholly based on historic volatility calculated based on the weighted average remaining life of the share 
options adjusted for any expected changes to future volatility due to publicly available information 
the total expenses recognised for the year and the total liabilities recognised at the end of the year arising from sharebased 
payments are as follows 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008 
£000
equitysettled sharebased payment expense 97 –
cashsettled sharebased payment expense – –
total carrying amount of liabilities 97 –
total intrinsic carrying amount of liabilities in respect of vested benefits – –
   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 51 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
26 share capital 
on 29 september 2008 the company then named gamingking plc became the legal parent of orb holdings limited parent 
company of sceptre leisure solutions limited and others in a shareforshare transaction as set out in note 15 to these accounts 
as part of this transaction the company also implemented a reorganisation of its share capital which involved a subdivision of  
the existing ordinary shares followed by a consolidation this share capital reorganisation was passed by ordinary resolution at  
the company’s general meeting held on 29 september 2009 in summary each ordinary share of 1p each was divided into  
one ordinary share of 01p and one deferred share of £09p each 1p ordinary share was then consolidated on a 501 basis to 
create a new 5p ordinary share full details of the reorganisation were published in the company’s admission document  
dated 2 september 2008 
30 april 2009
£000
authorised 
47674384 ordinary shares of 5p each 2384
290697869 deferred shares of 09p each 2616
 5000
allotted called up and fully paid 
38759720 ordinary shares of 5p each 1938
290697869 deferred shares of 09p each 2616
 4554
the share capital reflected in the balance sheet for the comparative period is that of orb holdings limited which was made up  
as follows 
29 april 2008
£000
authorised 
10000000 ordinary shares of 1p each 100
allotted called up and fully paid 
255201 ordinary shares of 1p each 3
27 reserves 
share capital 
the share capital account includes the par value for all shares issued and outstanding 
share premium account 
the share premium account comprises the premium over nominal value on issued shares the use of this reserve is restricted by 
the companies act 1985 
merger reserve 
the merger reserve is a reserve established under ifrs 3 ‘business combinations’ on the deemed acquisition of gamingking plc by 
orb holdings limited 
minority interest 
the minority interest relates to a minority shareholding in the legal share capital of sceptre leisure solutions limited note 15 
retained earnings 
the retained earnings reserve includes the accumulated profits and losses arising from the consolidated income statement and 
certain items from the statement of recognised income and expense attributable to equity shareholders net of distributions to 
shareholders 
28 capital commitments 
there were no capital commitments at the end of the 2009 financial year 2008 £nil  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
52 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
29 financial risk management 
financial instruments held by the group as detailed in this note are classified as ‘loans and receivables’ cash and cash 
equivalents trade and other receivables ‘financial liabilities measured at amortised cost’ trade and other payables bank 
overdrafts bank loans and loan notes and ‘financial assets and liabilities at fair value through profit or loss’ derivative 
instruments under ias 39 ‘financial instruments recognition and measurement’ and ‘finance leases’ under ias 17 ‘leases’ 
the group’s operations expose it to a variety of financial risks comprising credit risk liquidity risk and interest rate risk  
the group has in place risk management policies that seek to limit the adverse effects on the financial performance of the group  
by using various instruments and techniques risk management policies have been set by the board and applied by the group  
a liquidity risk  
financial risk management 
liquidity risk is the risk that the group will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they fall due the group’s approach to 
managing liquidity is to ensure as far as possible that it has sufficient liquidity to meet its liabilities as they fall due with surplus 
facilities to cope with any unexpected variances in timing of cash flows 
the group believes it has sufficient cash and borrowing facilities to meet its operational commitments at the year end the group 
had the following undrawn facilities in respect of which all conditions precedent had been met 
 
2009
£000
2008
£000
undrawn borrowing facilities 
 uncommitted 1193 1883
 committed 1944 3808
 3137 5691
maturity analysis 
the following are the contractual maturities of financial liabilities including estimated interest payments and excluding the impact 
of netting agreements 
30 april 2009 
carrying  
amount 
£000 
contractual 
cash flows
£000
6 months or less
£000
6–12 months
£000
1–2 years 
£000 
2–5 years
£000
more than 
5 years
£000
nonderivative financial 
liabilities   
bank loans and loan notes 10475 11528 1070 1929 3577 4952 –
finance lease liabilities 7171 7942 3077 2580 1984 301 –
trade and other payables 10833 10833 10365 – – 468 –
bank overdrafts 2356 2356 2356 
derivative financial 
liabilities   
interest rate swaps 414 414 – – – 414 –
total 31249 33073 16868 4509 5561 6135 –
 
29 april 2008 restated 
carrying  
amount 
£000 
contractual 
cash flows
£000
6 months or less
£000
6–12 months
£000
1–2 years 
£000 
2–5 years
£000
more than 
5 years
£000
nonderivative financial 
liabilities   
bank loans and loan notes 12275 15315 1444 1370 3415 9086 –
finance lease liabilities 5093 5660 1882 1619 1717 442 –
trade and other payables 5764 5764 5331 – – 433 –
bank overdrafts 1117 1117 1117 
derivative financial 
liabilities   
interest rate swaps – –––– ––
total 24249 27856 9774 2989 5132 9961 –
included in bank loans and loan notes in 2009 are £2175000  2008 £2175000 variable rate secured loan notes 2012   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 53 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
29 financial risk management continued 
b foreign exchange risk 
the group does not trade in overseas countries there are few transactions in foreign currencies and therefore the group’s 
exposure to foreign exchange risk is considered to be low 
c interest rate risk  
the group is subject to fluctuations in interest rates on its borrowings and cash and cash equivalents the group is aware of the 
financial products available to ensure against adverse movements in interest rates formal reviews are undertaken to determine 
whether such instruments are appropriate for the group at 30 april 2009 the group held contracts covering £83m 2008 £101m 
of interest rate collars which restrict the company borrowing rate between 470 and 575 the relevant floating interest rate is 
gbr – libor with threemonth maturity  
the table below shows the group’s financial assets and liabilities split by those bearing fixed and floating rates and those that are 
noninterest bearing 
30 april 2009 
fixed rate
£000
floating rate 
£000 
noninterest 
bearing
£000
total
£000
cash and cash equivalents – 719 – 719
trade and other receivables – – 4744 4744
trade and other payables – – 10833 10833
bank overdrafts – 2356 – 2356
bank loans and loan notes – 10475 – 10475
finance leases 7171 – – 7171
 7171 12112 6089 25372
 
29 april 2008 restated 
fixed rate
£000
floating rate 
£000 
noninterest 
bearing
£000
total
£000
cash and cash equivalents – 449 – 449
trade and other receivables – – 2957 2957
trade and other payables – – 5764 5764
bank overdrafts – 1117 – 1117
bank loans and loan notes – 12275 – 12275
finance leases 5093 – – 5093
 5093 12943 2807 20843
interest is payable on the bank loans at libor  3 2008 225 interest on the £2175000 variable rate secured loan notes 
2012 is libor  225 
sensitivity analysis 
a change of 1 basis point in interest rates at the balance sheet date would have increaseddecreased equity and profit or loss by 
the amounts shown below this calculation assumes that the change occurred at the balance sheet date and had been applied to 
risk exposures existing at that date  
this analysis assumes that all other variables remain constant the group has calculated the following sensitivities based on 
available data from forward markets for fixed and floating interest rates management believe that these reflect the most probable 
rate movements the analysis is performed on the same basis for the comparative period 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
impact on equity 
1 increase in base rate of interest 202 118
impact on profit or loss 
1 increase in base rate of interest 202 118
  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
54 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
29 financial risk management continued 
d credit risk 
financial risk management  
credit risk is the risk of financial loss to the group if a customer or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its 
contractual obligations and arises principally from the group’s receivables from customers and investment securities 
the credit risk on liquid funds is limited because the counterparties are banks with high credit ratings assigned by international 
credit rating agencies 
the group’s credit risk is primarily attributable to its trade receivables management has a credit policy in place and exposure to 
credit risk is monitored on an ongoing basis management believe the group has a wide trade receivable profile and therefore does 
not have any significant concentration of risk the credit quality of trade receivables that are neither past due not impaired is 
considered to be good 
exposure to credit risk 
the carrying amount of financial assets represents the maximum credit exposure therefore the maximum exposure to credit risk 
at the balance sheet date was £2848000 2008 £1707000 being the total of the carrying amount of financial assets excluding 
equity investments shown in the table below 
 
30 april 2009 
£000
29 april 2008 
£000
trade receivables 2129 1251
cash and cash equivalents 719 449
interest rate swaps used for hedging – assets – 7
 2848 1707
the maximum exposure to credit risk for trade receivables at the balance sheet date by geographic region was 
 
30 april 2009 
£000
29 april 2008 
£000
united kingdom 2129 1251
other – –
 2129 1251
credit quality of financial assets and impairment losses 
the ageing of trade receivables at the balance sheet date was 
gross
30 april 2009 
£000
impairment 
30 april 2009  
£000 
gross
29 april 2008 
£000
impairment
29 april 2008 
£000
not past due 1668 – 1048 –
past due 0–30 days 343 – 76 –
past due 31–120 days 76 – 112 –
more than 120 days 51 9 15 –
 2138 9 1251 –
   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 55 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
29 financial risk management continued 
e capital management 
the group’s main objective when managing capital is to safeguard the group’s ability to continue as a going concern in order  
to provide returns to shareholders the group aims to maintain a strong credit rating and headroom whilst optimising return to 
shareholders through an appropriate balance of debt and equity funding the group manages its capital structure and makes 
adjustments to it with regard to the risks inherent in the business and in light of changes to economic conditions 
capital is managed by maximising retained profits after dividend distributions working capital is managed in order to generate 
maximum conversion of these profits into cash and cash equivalents and dividends are paid from current year profits thereby 
maintaining capital 
the policy for managing debt is to create a smooth debt maturity profile with the objective of ensuring continuity of funding to meet 
the group’s future liquidity requirements 
capital includes share capital share premium reverse acquisition reserve net debt and retained earnings reserve net debt includes 
short and longterm borrowings including overdrafts and lease obligations net of cash and cash equivalents 
f fair values of financial instruments 
the fair values of the financial instruments held by the group have been calculated as follows 
trade and other receivables 
the fair value of trade and other receivables excluding construction contract debtors is estimated as the present value of future 
cash flows discounted at the market rate of interest at the balance sheet date if the effect is material 
trade and other payables 
the fair value of trade and other payables is estimated as the present value of future cash flows discounted at the market rate of 
interest at the balance sheet date if the effect is material 
cash and cash equivalents 
the fair value of cash and cash equivalents is estimated as its carrying amount where the cash is repayable on demand where it is 
not repayable on demand then the fair value is estimated at the present value of future cash flows discounted at the market rate of 
interest at the balance sheet date 
interestbearing borrowings 
fair value which after initial recognition is determined for disclosure purposes only is calculated based on the present value of 
future principal and interest cash flows discounted at the market rate of interest at the balance sheet date in respect of the liability 
component of convertible notes the market rate of interest is determined by reference to similar liabilities that do not have a 
conversion option for finance leases the market rate of interest is determined by reference to similar lease agreements 
derivative financial instruments 
the fair value of interest rate swaps is based on broker quotes those quotes are tested for reasonableness by discounting 
estimated future cash flows based on the terms and maturity of each contract and using market interest rates for a similar 
instrument at the measurement date 
the interest rates used to discount estimated cash flows were as follows  
 
30 april 2009 

29 april 2008 

derivatives 055 601
loans and borrowings 455 808
leases 1300 850
  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
56 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
29 financial risk management continued 
fair values 
the fair values for each class of financial assets and financial liabilities together with their carrying amounts shown in the balance 
sheet are as follows 
carrying amount
30 april 2009 
£000
fair value 
30 april 2009  
£000 
carrying amount
29 april 2008 
£000
fair value
29 april 2008 
£000
trade and other receivables 4744 4744 2957 2957
cash and cash equivalents 719 719 449 449
interest rate swaps used for hedging  
 assets – – 77
 liabilities 414 414 ––
bank loans and loan notes 10475 10324 12275 12331
finance lease liabilities 7171 6765 5093 5025
trade and other payables 10833 10833 5764 5764
bank overdrafts 2356 2356 1117 1117
 25786 25229 20836 20824
unrecognised gains 557 – 12 –
30 operating leases payable 
at the balance sheet date the group has outstanding commitments under operating leases which fall due as follows 
 
30 april 2009
£000
property
30 april 2009
£000
other
30 april 2009
£000
total
29 april 2008 
£000 
property 
29 april 2008
£000
other
29 april 2008
£000
total
within one year 440 477 917 178 30 208
in the second to fifth year inclusive 1291 290 1581 619 – 619
after five years 715 – 715 161 – 161
 2446 767 3213 958 30 988
operating lease payments represent rentals payable by the group for certain of its properties and equipment leases have varying 
terms and renewal rights the above leasing arrangements do not contain any restrictive covenants contingent rents or purchase 
options   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 57 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
31 related party transactions  
transactions between group companies have not been disclosed as these have all been eliminated in the preparation of the 
consolidated financial information 
during the financial year the group had the following transactions with related parties as defined by ias 24 ‘related party 
disclosures’ 
30 april 2009 29 april 2008
related party relationship nature of transactions
aggregate 
value for 
financial year
£000
net amount 
owed toby  
the group 
£000 
aggregate 
value for 
financial year
£000
net amount 
owed toby 
the group
£000
weston castle group limited  
and its subsidiary entities 
common control rental income 
and recharges 172 468 184 434
  sales – 218 19 253
   172 250 203 181
mbm fabrications limited 
common 
directors within 
subsidiaries 
purchase of 
machine 
components and 
spares 91 24 ––
single site software limited 
common 
directors 
provision of 
computer 
software – – 175 –
all transactions with related parties were undertaken in the ordinary course of business and on an armslength basis 
key management personnel 
as at 30 april 2009 the following directors or key management personnel had loans from the group at the year end at 29 april 
2008 one director had a loan outstanding as follows 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
k turner 2 5
v wardman 2 –
no interest has been charged on the balance of either loan the maximum balance due to the group was £5000 2008 £5000 
as at 30 april 2009 and 29 april 2008 the following directors or key management personnel had made loans to the group at the 
year end 
 
30 april 2009
£000
29 april 2008
£000
v wardman 179 179
no interest has been charged on the balance of the loan and no repayments made the loan is repayable on demand and the 
maximum balance due by the group was £179000 2008 £179000 
32 events after the balance sheet date 
on 17 june 2009 the company announced that it has conditionally placed with hillroad investments limited 16603400 new 
ordinary shares of 5p each at a price of 331p per share thereby raising gross proceeds of £55m this placing was agreed with 
shareholders at the company’s general meeting held on 2 july 2009 following the issue of the 16603400 placing shares the 
company now has 55363120 ordinary shares in issue for the avoidance of doubt all capitalised terms have the same meaning  
as those defined in the general meeting circular dated 17 june 2009  notes 
forming part of the financial statements continued 
58 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
33 accounting estimates and judgements 
some asset and liability amounts reported in the historical financial information are based on management estimates and 
assumptions there is therefore a risk of significant changes to the carrying amounts for these assets and liabilities within the next 
financial year the estimates and assumptions are made on the basis of information and conditions that exist at the time of the 
valuation 
classification of leases 
the group utilises assets subject to operating and finance leases the classification of these leases is based on a number of factors 
such as risk and reward length of use and the fair value of minimum lease payments lease classification is made at the inception of 
the lease 
impairment provisions 
no impairment provisions have been made against goodwill as management have calculated the recoverable amount in each case 
to be in excess of the carrying values the carrying amount of goodwill in the group accounts is £61000 and this amount was 
tested for impairment at the balance sheet date using a discount rate of 11 as set out in note 13 using this discount rate the net 
present value of the future cash flows associated with the goodwill relationships was significantly in excess of the carrying amount 
the impairment tests require a number of assumptions and judgements to be made an explanation of these judgements and 
estimations are detailed in the impairment test accounting policies 
customer contracts and relationships 
the group recognises customer contracts and relationships as intangible assets on business combinations with a net book value at 
the balance sheet date of £44m these assets are subsequently amortised over the estimated useful economic life to the group 
which is estimated to be between 18–20 years the initial valuation of these assets is based on an incremental income method 
valuation which requires the use of assumptions relating to future revenue profitability and relationship life with each customer 
changes in the assumptions for useful economic life or incremental profits will have an impact on the annual amortisation charge 
recognised in the financial statements the loss of a major customer may result in the recognition of an impairment loss  
the directors revisit these assumptions on a regular basis 
inventory impairment provisions 
the group makes provision for inventories deemed to be obsolete this provision is established on a specific item by item basis 
based on management’s prior experience and their assessment of the present value of estimated future cash flows at the balance 
sheet date a provision of £5000 2008 £nil has been made during the course of the year provisions totalling £9000 were 
reversed and a corresponding credit to cost of sales was recognised any future increase to the provision would lead to a 
corresponding reduction in reported profits and total assets 
receivables impairment provisions 
the amounts presented in the balance sheet are net of allowances for doubtful receivables estimated by the group’s management 
based on prior experience and their assessment of the present value of estimated future cash flows at the balance sheet date a 
provision of £9000 has been made this amount is based on specific over due account criteria and management’s judgement as to 
future recoverability any future increase to the provision would lead to a corresponding reduction in reported profits and total 
assets  company balance sheet 
at 30 april 2009 
 
 sceptre leisure plc 59 
  annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
note 
30 april 2009
£000
30 april 2008
£000
fixed assets  
investments 6 14828 1300
current assets  
debtors  7 2674 2637
cash at bank and in hand  – 104
  2674 2741
creditors amounts falling due within one year  8 1181 302
net current assets  1493 2439
total assets less current liabilities  16321 3739
creditors amounts falling due after more than one year  9 – 260
net assets  16321 3479
capital and reserves  
called up share capital 10 4554 2907
share premium account 11 173 173
merger reserve 11 11419 307
capital contribution – sharebased payments 11 58 –
profit and loss account 11 117 92
shareholders’ funds   16321 3479
these financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 7 october 2009 and were signed on its behalf by 
 
 
kenneth turner 
director 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements  company reconciliation of movements in shareholders’ funds 
for the year ended 30 april 2009 
 
60 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
 
30 april 2009
£000
30 april 2008
£000
lossprofit for the financial year 14 1
dividends on shares classified in shareholders’ funds  – –
retained lossprofit 14 1
adjustments relating to acquisition of orb holdings limited 11112 –
new shares capital issued for acquisition of orb holdings limited 1647 –
charge in relation to sharebased payments 39 –
capital contribution in relation to sharebased payments to employees of subsidiaries 58 –
net addition to shareholders’ funds 12842 1
opening shareholders’ funds  3479 3478
closing shareholders’ funds 16321 3479
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the accompanying accounting policies and notes form an integral part of these financial statements notes 
forming part of the company financial statements 
 sceptre leisure plc 61 
  annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
1 accounting policies 
the following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to 
the financial statements except as noted below the directors have reviewed the principal accounting policies and consider they 
remain the most appropriate for the company the principal accounting policies of the company have remained unchanged from 
previous years 
basis of preparation 
the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with uk gaap accounting standards and under the historical cost 
accounting rules  
under section 408 of the companies act 2006 the company is exempt from the requirement to present its own profit and loss 
account  
under financial reporting standard 1 the company is exempt from the requirement to prepare a cash flow statement on the 
grounds that a parent undertaking includes the company in its own published consolidated financial statements 
investments 
investments in subsidiary undertakings are stated at cost less amounts written off 
taxation 
the charge for taxation is based on the profit for the year and takes into account taxation deferred because of timing differences 
between the treatment of certain items for taxation and accounting purposes 
deferred tax is recognised without discounting in respect of all timing differences between the treatment of certain items for 
taxation and accounting purposes which have arisen but not reversed by the balance sheet date except as otherwise required by 
frs 19 
financial instruments 
financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised on the company’s balance sheet when the company becomes party to the 
contractual terms of the instrument 
trade debtors 
trade debtors do not carry any interest and are stated at their fair values as reduced to equal the estimated present value of the 
future cash flows 
trade creditors 
trade creditors are not interest bearing and are stated at their fair value 
bank borrowings 
interest bearing bank loans and overdrafts are initially recorded at fair value finance charges including premiums payable on 
settlement or redemption and direct issue costs are accounted for on an accruals basis to the profit and loss account using the 
effective interest method and are added to the carrying value of the instrument to the extent that they are not settled in the period 
in which they arise 
sharebased payments 
for all employee share options granted after 7 november 2002 and vesting on or after 1 may 2005 an expense is recognised in the 
income statement with a corresponding credit to equity the equity sharebased payment is measured at the grant date using a 
blackscholes model the details of which are set out in note 25 to the consolidated financial statements 
where the company grants options over its own shares to the employees of its subsidiaries it recognises in its individual financial 
statements an increase in the cost of investment in its subsidiaries equivalent to the equitysettled sharebased payment charge 
recognised in its consolidated financial statements with the corresponding credit being recognised directly in equity 
pensions 
the company makes contributions to certain directors’ pension plans and the pension costs charged against profits represent the 
amount of the contributions payable to the schemes in respect of the accounting period  notes 
forming part of the company financial statements continued 
62 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
2 profit attributable to members of the parent company 
as permitted by section 408 of the companies act 2006 the parent company has not presented its own profit and loss account 
the company’s loss for the year of £14000 2008 profit of £1000 has been transferred to reserves 
auditor’s remuneration 
the audit fees for the company were £14000 2008 £3000 auditor’s remuneration for other services is disclosed in note 6 to 
the consolidated financial statements 
amounts paid to the company’s auditors and their associates in respect of services to the company other than the audit of the 
company’s financial statements have not been disclosed as the information is required instead to be disclosed on a consolidated 
basis 
3 staff numbers and costs 
the average number of persons employed by the company including directors during the year analysed by category was as 
follows 
 
30 april 2009
number
30 april 2008
number
office and administrative 2 1
sales – –
production and service – –
 2 1
the aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows 
 
30 april 2009
£000
30 april 2008
£000
wages and salaries 222 25
social security costs 26 3
pension costs 16 –
 264 28
4 remuneration of directors 
see note 7 to the consolidated financial statements 
5 dividends  
the directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend in respect of the current year 2008 nil 
   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 63 
  annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
6 investments in subsidiaries 
the company has the following investments in subsidiaries 
ownership 
 
country of 
incorporation
class of shares 
held 2009 2008 nature of business
orb holdings limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100 0 holding company
sceptre leisure solutions limited england and 
wales
ordinary 98 0 retail of gaming and 
amusement machines
regal amusements machine sales limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100 0 sale of amusement 
machines
lotteryking limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100 100 supply and operation of 
lottery ticket vending 
machines
creative lotteries limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100 100 external lottery manager
single site software limited england and 
wales
ordinary 50 0 provision of ict services
gemini club supplies limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100100 dormant
kelly’s eye no 1 limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100100 dormant
gaming centres limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100 0 dormant
sceptre leisure sales limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100 0 dormant
daily lotto uk limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100 0 dormant
the business information zone limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100100 dormant
kelly’s eye north west limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100100 dormant
vendingking limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100100 dormant
lotteryking international limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100100 dormant
club lottery uk limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100100 dormant
club biz limited england and 
wales
ordinary 100100 dormant
on 29 september 2008 the company then named gamingking plc became the legal parent of orb holdings limited parent 
company of sceptre leisure solutions limited and others in a shareforshare transaction this acquisition and its treatment in the 
group accounts is disclosed fully in notes 1 and 15 to the consolidated financial statements 
the consideration for the acquisition is set out below 
fair value at date 
of acquisition
£000
shares in sceptre leisure plc 12758
32945762 ordinary shares of 5p each issued at 387p 
consideration 12758
acquisition expenses 712
total consideration 13470
  notes 
forming part of the company financial statements continued 
64 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
6 investments in subsidiaries continued 
total
£000
cost 
balance at 1 may 2007 2020
additions –
balance at 30 april 2008 2020
balance at 1 may 2008 2020
additions 13470
sharebased payments to employees in subsidiaries 58
balance at 30 april 2009 15548
amortisation and impairment 
balance at 1 may 2007 716
charged in the year 4
balance at 30 april 2008 720
balance at 1 may 2008 720
charged in the year –
balance at 30 april 2009 720
net book value 
at 1 may 2007 1304
at 30 april 2008 1300
at 30 april 2009 14828
7 debtors 
 
30 april 2009
£000
30 april 2008
£000
amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings 2168 2106
loans to subsidiary undertakings 480 480
other taxation 10 39
prepayments 16 12
 2674 2637
debtors include £nil 2008 £nil due after more than one year 
8 creditors amounts falling due within one year 
 
30 april 2009
£000
30 april 2008
£000
amounts due to subsidiary undertakings 991 –
trade creditors 76 47
bank loan – 220
accruals 114 35
 1181 302
9 creditors amounts falling due after more than one year 
 
30 april 2009
£000
30 april 2008
£000
bank loan – 260
   
 
 sceptre leisure plc 65 
  annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
10 called up share capital 
30 april 2008
£000
authorised 
500000000 ordinary shares of 1p each 5000
allotted called up and fully paid 
290697869 ordinary shares of 1p each 2907
on 29 september 2008 the company then named gamingking plc became the legal parent of orb holdings limited parent 
company of sceptre leisure solutions limited and others in a shareforshare transaction as set out in note 6 to these accounts  
as part of this transaction the company also implemented a reorganisation of its share capital which involved a subdivision of  
the existing ordinary shares followed by a consolidation this share capital reorganisation was passed by ordinary resolution at  
the company’s general meeting held on 29 september 200  in summary each ordinary share of 1p each was divided into one 
ordinary share of 01p and one deferred share of £09p each 1p ordinary share was then consolidated on a 50–1 basis to  
create a new 5p ordinary share full details of the reorganisation were published in the company’s admission document dated  
2 september 2008 
30 april 2009
£000
authorised 
47674384 ordinary shares of 5p each 2384
290697869 deferred shares of 09p each 2616
 5000
allotted called up and fully paid 
38759720 ordinary shares of 5p each 1938
290697869 deferred shares of 09p each 2616
 4554
11 share premium and reserves 
share premium 
account
£000
merger reserve 
£000 
capital 
contribution 
sharebased 
payments £000
profit and loss 
account
£000
at beginning of year 173 307 – 92
loss for the year – – – 14
employee sharebased payments – – 58 39
relating to acquisition note 6 – 11112 – –
at end of year 173 11419 58 117
12 capital commitments 
the company has no outstanding capital commitments at 30 april 2008 or 30 april 2009 
8 notice of annual general meeting 
 
66 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
notice is hereby given that the annual general meeting of the company will be held at college hill associates the registry  
royal mint court london ec3n 4qn on thursday 22 october 2009 at 11am for the following purposes 
to consider and if thought fit pass the following resolutions 
ordinary business 
1 to receive and if approved to adopt the company’s accounts for the year ended 30 april 2009 together with the report of the 
directors and the auditors’ report on those accounts and to note that the directors do not recommend the payment of a final 
dividend for that period 
2 to reappoint kpmg audit plc as auditor of the company to hold office from the conclusion of the meeting to the conclusion of 
the next meeting at which the accounts are laid before the company at a remuneration to be determined by the directors 
3 to reappoint k turner who was appointed since the last annual general meeting and retires in accordance with the company’s 
articles of association as a director of the company 
4 to reappoint l humphrys who was appointed since the last annual general meeting and retires in accordance with the 
company’s articles of association as a director of the company  
5 to reappoint v wardman who was appointed since the last annual general meeting and retires in accordance with the 
company’s articles of association as a director of the company 
ordinary resolution 
6 to grant the authority conferred on the directors by article 821 of the company’s articles of association to allot relevant 
securities for the period ending on the conclusion of the company’s next agm and for that period the section 551 amount shall 
be £830477 16608940 shares this authority shall be in substitution for any prior authority granted in this regard by the 
company at an annual general meeting or extraordinary general meeting 
special resolution 
7 subject to the passing of resolution 6 above to grant the power conferred on the directors by article 822 of the company’s 
articles of association to allot equity securities as if section 5611 did not apply to any such allotment for the period ending on 
the conclusion of the company’s next agm and for that period the section 561 amount shall be £276818 5536320 shares 
this authority and power shall be in substitution for the power granted in this regard by the company at any prior annual 
general meeting or extraordinary general meeting 
 to the extent the power conferred by article 822 to allot equity securities up to an aggregate nominal amount equal to the 
section 561 amount shall apply to a sale of shares which by virtue of s5601 of the act is an allotment of equity securities the 
words ‘pursuant to and within the terms of the said authority’ in article 822 shall be deemed to be omitted 
8 pursuant to the authorities contained in its articles of association to give general and unconditional authority to make market 
purchases within the meaning of section 6934 of the companies act 2006 of up to a maximum of 2768156 ordinary shares 
of 5p each in its capital ‘ordinary shares’ representing 5 of the company’s issued ordinary share capital provided that 
i the maximum price per ordinary share is not more than 5 above the average market value for an ordinary share as 
derived from the london stock exchange daily official list for the last five business days in respect of which such daily 
official list is published before the purchase is made and the minimum price per ordinary share is not less than 5p and  
ii this authority unless previously renewed shall expire on the conclusion of the company’s next agm except in relation to 
the purchase of any ordinary shares the contract for which was concluded before the date of expiry of the authority and 
which would or might be completed wholly or partly after such date 
by order of the board 
guy van zwanenberg 
29 september 2009 
secretary 
20 black friars lane 
london 
ec4v 6hd   
 
 
 sceptre leisure plc 67 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
overview business review governance financial statements other information 
notes 
a any member of the company entitled to attend and vote at the meeting may appoint one or more proxies to attend and on a 
poll to vote on hisher behalf a proxy need not be a member forms of proxy should be lodged with the company’s registrar 
proxy department capita registrars limited the registry 34 beckenham road beckenham kent br3 4tu not later than 48 
hours before the time for which the meeting is convened to be effective completion of the appropriate form of proxy does not 
prevent a member from attending and voting in person if heshe is entitled to do so and so wishes 
b members are informed that a register of all interests of each director and his family in each class of share capital of the 
company and its subsidiaries and copies of all contracts of service of more than one year’s duration of any director with the 
company or any of its subsidiaries are available for inspection at the registered office of the company during normal business 
hours on any weekday saturdays and public holidays excepted from the date of this notice until the close of the meeting and 
on the day of the meeting at the place of the meeting from at least 15 minutes prior to the meeting until its conclusion 
c in accordance with regulation 41 of the uncertificated securities regulations 2001 the company gives notice that only those 
shareholders entered on the relevant register of members the ‘register’ for certificated or uncertificated shares of the 
company as the case may be at 6pm on 20 october 2009 the ‘specified time’ will be entitled to attend or vote at the 
meeting in respect of the number of shares registered in their name at the time changes to entries on the register after the 
specified time will be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend or vote at that meeting should the meeting 
be adjourned to a time not more than 48 hours after the specified time that time will also apply for the purpose of determining 
the entitlement of members to attend and vote and for the purpose of determining the number of votes they may cast at the 
adjourned meeting should the meeting be adjourned for a longer period then to be so entitled members must be entered on 
the register at the time which is 48 hours before the time fixed for the adjourned meeting or if the company gives notice of the 
adjourned meeting at the time specified in the notice 
d to appoint a proxy or to give or amend an instruction to a previously appointed proxy via the crest system the crest 
message must be received by the issuer’s agent ra10 by 11am on 20 october 2009 for this purpose the time of receipt will be 
taken to be the time as determined by the timestamp applied to the message by the crest applications host from which the 
issuer’s agent is able to retrieve the message after this time any change of instructions to a proxy appointed through crest 
should be communicated to the proxy by other means crest personal members or other crest sponsored members and 
those crest members who have appointed voting service providerss should contact their crest sponsor or voting service 
providers for assistance with appointing proxies via crest for further information on crest procedures limitations and 
system timings please refer to the crest manual we may treat as invalid a proxy appointment sent by crest in the 
circumstances set out in regulation 355a of the uncertificated securities regulations 2001 in any case your proxy form must 
be received by the company’s registrars no later than 11am on 20 october 2009 
e shareholders may appoint a proxy or proxies or vote online at wwwcapitashareportalcom  shareholder notes 
 
68 sceptre leisure plc 
 annual report and accounts 2009 
  introduction
sceptre leisure plc’s principal activities are centred on
the provision of gaming lottery and leisure equipment
in this report we explain how much we have achieved
since our formation and how we intend to build on
that success
designed and produced by radley yeldar wwwrycom using the paperless proofing system wizardry
sceptre leisure plc are committed to caring for the environment and looking for sustainable ways to minimise our impact on it
this year our annual report and accounts has been printed by beacon press using their pureprint® environmental print technology
a guaranteed low carbon low waste independently audited process that reduces the environmental impact of the printing process
all the electricity used in this production was generated from 100 renewable sources and vegetable oil based inks were used
throughout beacon press is a carbonneutral® company and is certificated to environmental management system iso 14001 and
registered to emas the eco management and audit scheme
also we take care to minimise the impact on the environment in the paper we use the paper we have used lumi silk is sourced from
well managed forests and manufactured at a mill accredited with iso 14001 environmental management standard the pulp used in
this product is bleached using an elemental chlorine free process
fsc – forest stewardship council this ensures there is an audited
chain of custody from the tree in the wellmanaged forest through
to the finished document in the printing factory
iso 14001 – a pattern of control for an environmental management
system against which an organisation can be credited by a third party sceptre leisure plc
139 brookfield place
walton summit
bamber bridge
preston
pr5 8bf
t 01772 694 242
f 01772 694 243
w wwwsceptreleisureplccouk
e infosceptreleisureplccouk
sceptre leisure plc annual report and accounts 2009
sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009


Summary:
 chief executive’s review
maximising opportunities
the group now operates
approximately 21000
amusement and gaming
machines and is well
placed to continue to
beneﬁt from industry
consolidation
ken t urner
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 08 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 09
annual report and accounts 2009
it gives me great pleasure to present my
first annual review for sceptre leisure plc
since our interim report earlier this year
the group has continued to grow its
business in the licensed trade whilst
maintaining improvements in our machine
revenue and utilisation averages 
the businesses acquired in the reverse
takeover earlier this year have now been
fully integrated and we are beginning to
see the benefits of being able to offer our
full range to a wider customer base
the drive for growth continues into the
new financial year our successful placing
of £55m in new shares on aim in june
2009 will provide the financial resources
needed to increase penetration in all of
our target markets
performance overview
the results for the 12 months to the end 
of april 2009 showed turnover up 83 
to £392m with a similar rise in both 
gross profit and operating profit before
exceptionals net cash from operating
activities also increased to £128m from
£94m in the prior year  
the group’s performance continued to
build on the strong start reported in 
our interim statement all of the above
measures improved in the second six
months of the year 
we continue to work hard at maximising
the revenue achieved from our assets
with our machine utilisation ratio the
percentage of our total machine estate 
on active hire continuing to hold at our
target rate of 95 this coupled to the
growth of our average weekly rental
income per machine over the period
under review has allowed us to increase
profitability despite the challenging
environment in which we operate
the group won significant new business
with highquality customers during the
year  allowing us to increase both machine
numbers and average income levels in the
face of continued pub closures again this
momentum has continued into the new
financial year with further contract
awards being won by sceptre leisure
solutions in the first quarter 
our three main trading divisions are now
fully established within the group and
continue to work towards our strategic
objectives in a coordinated manner  
i would like to take this opportunity to
summarise the main achievements in 
the year under review
sceptre leisure solutions
the directors believe that sceptre
remains the secondlargest operator of
amusement and gaming machines in the
uk’s licensed retail sector  and the only
national operator with fully staffed depots
across the country during the year we
opened a new depot in cardiff allowing us
to offer an average twohour service
response time across the uk
during the year  the number of machines
operated grew by 19 to 18000 with
average weekly rental also increasing
23 during the period whilst pub
closures continue to affect the lower end
of the market our experience is that at
the top end our customers will continue to
do well where their offering includes our
marketleading machine portfolio to help
them achieve their financial targets 
we have continued to grow both the
quantity and quality of our machine estate
whilst many of our competitors have 
failed to do so
the group won signiﬁcant
new business with high
quality customers during the
year  allowing us to increase
both machine numbers and
average income levels
machine asset utilisation
95
2008 94
net cash from operating activities
£128m
2008 £94m
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 09 chief executive’s review
continued
customer service t eam
our unrivalled commitment to
customer service has been
reinforced with the addition of a 
new stateoftheart call centre
located at our head office this has
led not only to enhanced service for
our customers but also generates
technical data and operational
statistics for our internal 
kpi measurements 
10 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
10 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 10 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 11
annual report and accounts 2009
sceptre gaming the fixed odds betting
terminal fobt subdivision of sceptre
leisure solutions signed a new
partnership with videobet a subsidiary
of the playtech group in november 2008
the partnership gave sceptre gaming
exclusive supply of videobet’s multi
game software in the uk including
revolutionary games and industryfirst
loyalty features and will strengthen
sceptre gaming’s position in the uk
fobt market
sceptre gaming experienced strong
growth with fobt machines in licensed
betting offices over the year and will
continue to rollout the product across
the uk this partnership with videobet
highlights sceptre gaming’s strong
position in the uk fobt market and
commitment to supplying our customers
with the highest quality product available
we aim to achieve a significant share of
the estimated 40000piece fobt market
in the uk which has traditionally been
dominated by two machine and software
suppliers our fobt s are currently
undergoing trials in a number of national
and regional licensed betting office
operators’ premises and both players
and operators have received the product
extremely well
the videobet platform offers unique
player tracking and customer loyalty
functionality which can be utilised by our
lbo customers to increase revenues and
introduce crossplatform marketing
videobet’s software is not confined to the
fobt market and can easily be adapted
for digital category c awp amusement
with prizes machines for use in pubs and
clubs sceptre has traditionally operated
analogue awps in all of its markets but
this partnership will allow us to supply
a digital offering for our customers
which will complement our existing
product range
we continue to concentrate on sceptre
leisure’s operating ratios and particularly
that between the numbers of machines
operated to staff employed this ratio is
analysed monthly and during the course
of the year we continually rebalanced
our staffing levels between the depots
according to need this ensures that not
only are we employing the right number
of people across the business but that
they are employed in the correct part of
the country
fixed odds betting terminals across uk
c40000
source the gambling commission
combined b2b3 machine categories
at 31 march 2009
our strategy our goals our progress
sceptre leisure plc
isafocused
company supplying
amusement and
gaming machines
we aim to be the
supplier of choice to
the uk’s licensed
retail sector 
develop market
leadership positions
create longterm
shareholder value
21000 machines currently operated
growth in current ﬁnancial year has
been organic
highquality customer base with
growth at the top end
sceptre has partnership agreement
to become the sole uk distributor of
videobetplaytech standalone and
serverhosted multigame software
growth has been strong in licensed
retail licensed betting and other
leisure venues
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd 71009 1828 page 11 video machines
a wellsited video machine can
generate high levels of additional
income sceptre leisure ensures
that our customers are equipped
with the latest games machines in
this quickly changing market
chief executive’s review
continued
12 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 12 overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 13
annual report and accounts 2009
lotteryking
following the reverse takeover in
september 2008 we rebranded and
relaunched lotteryking within the club
market in which it operates around 3000
instantwin lottery machines we have 
also introduced a number of new lottery
games some offering a higher level of
payout to increase player involvement
and others being based on wellknown
club fruit machines initial sales figures 
of these new games are encouraging 
and they are a valuable aid to gaining 
new lottery sites
in addition to this traditional product base
lotteryking now offers the group’s full
range of coinoperated gaming and
amusement machines to the registered
club market through a strengthened 
sales team these efforts should result in
increased density and operational benefits
as we begin to win market share in the
new product groups
in my interim review i announced a 
new trial of around 100 regional brewer
operated sites in the northwest into
which we would be installing lottery
vending terminals the trial involved 
an estatewide rollout with the lotteries
being sold supporting a single charity
nominated by the pub operator  
the model has proved popular with
players sites and charity alike and we will
extend the trial to a further 200 locations
in different regions during the course of
the new financial year 
kelly’s eye
following an extensive rebranding
exercise kelly’s eye was launched online
in the first quarter of 2009 as well as
generating sales the website has proven 
a valuable tool to communicate the full
range of available products to our group
customers in other divisions and kelly’s
eye products are now being distributed
through both sceptre and lotteryking
sales channels
the kelly’s eye product line has expanded
to include newly popular indoor games
such as poker whilst retaining perennial
favourites such as bingo and darts 
these activities offer pub operators the
opportunity to attract and retain a client
base both through themed evenings and
teambased competitions and sceptre is
wellplaced to capitalise on the growth of
this market in pubs across the uk
support division
the support and technical functions 
of the group are now fully integrated
machine service installation collection
warehousing and distribution were all fully
consolidated two months after the reverse
takeover  administrative finance and ict
functions were also centralised at our
preston head office within six months of
the transaction date as i have stated
before however  the value to be derived
from the expanded group will come 
from revenue enhancement rather than
cost reduction
the consolidation of warehouse and
production into our preston head office
resulted in the closure of premises
previously operated in the northeast 
and cardiff and we successfully sublet 
or terminated the leases on these two
locations in spring 2009 reducing our
cost base in these areas
the group’s new customer service centre
opened at our head office in spring 2009
allowing our technical team to view and
manage service calls in real time across all
of our depots each service call which is
communicated electronically to our team
of 90 fieldbased engineers is tracked 
and monitored to ensure that our target
response times are met this continued
investment underlines our commitment to
customer service and will allow us to keep
sceptre’s response times to a minimum
ensuring that our assets are earning
money for our customers more of 
the time
machine rental income
£364m
2008 £210m
a vailable service cover days per year
364
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1828  page 13 pool tables
popular in pubs since the 1970s
pool tables can generate a great
deal of income through their own
take or over the bar  over 5m
people play pool every week in 
the uk 
62000
pool tables operated in the uk
source british association
of pool t able operators
chief executive’s review
continued
14 sceptre leisure plc
annual report and accounts 2009
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1829  page 14 outlook
sceptre leisure plc grew strongly during
the year under review increasing market
share by attracting highquality customers
from our competitors we aim to continue
that organic growth during 2009–10 and
have made a positive start to the year
with further contract awards from
whitbread leisure for approximately 
50 of their nationwide business and
also from regional pub operator larder
leisure in the northeast of england
these new machines will be installed
during the second quarter of the current
financial year 
our fobt operation continues to expand
with a new solesupply agreement for
scotbet from 1 september  to whom we
were previously contracted for 50 of
their terminals our continued trials with
coral have also now moved into a more
advanced sixmonth extension period
we have increased the number of pub and
club lottery terminals since april with a
5 uplift in numbers across the country
in the last five months
in summary in the first few months of the
current year trading levels have continued
the established trend of yearonyear
growth and we remain in line with our
performance expectations
we will also look to grow through
acquisition if suitable targets can be found
that complement our existing business
our recent share placing for £55m gives
us the ability to follow this dual strategy 
of organic and acquisitive growth
the increases in stakes and prizes in june
2009 provided a welcome boost to the
awp market and sceptre has benefited
from increased rentals on the new and
converted machines our customers are
also now seeing benefit from the rollout 
of machines offering increased stake and
prizes through increased machine takings
our partnership with videobet and
playtech gives us exclusive access to
marketleading technology and we will
work with them to develop our digital
offering in the coming months
we will also continue to increase revenue
through the crossselling of our full
product portfolio into our groupwide
customer base of over 10000 locations
as we have demonstrated over the past
year our business continues to improve
operating margins and grow despite 
the general economic conditions and
continued pub closures we are confident
that we can not only maintain but build
on our strong performance last year in
the coming 12 months
ken turner
chief executive officer 
7 october 2009
overview business review governance financial statements other information
sceptre leisure plc 15
annual report and accounts 2009
sceptre leisure service centres
head office t 01772 694 242
birmingham t 0121 559 7568
bristol t 0117 955 4044
cardiff t 0292 104 0103
crewe t 01606 594 952
leeds t 0113 242 8106
london e t 01708 805 794
london w t 020 8589 0002
nottingham t 0115 932 6349
pl ymouth t 01752 696 105
preston t 01772 628 510
scotland t 01698 844 087
washington t 0191 416 6646
birmingham
london w
bristol
crewe
washington
scotland
preston
leeds
awp maximum prize value
£70
2008 £35
increase in average weekly
machine rental income
23
london e
nottingham
cardiff
plymouth
13257ra09p06p19qxd13257ra09p06p19qxd  71009  1829  page 15