our aim is to create 
fun and enjoyment for 
our customers through
gamingbased leisure
experiences 
we recognise our
responsibility to act at all
times with consideration for
our people our customers 
and the communities in 
which we operate
the rank group website provides news and
details of the group’s activities as well as useful
links the investor section contains a variety of
information including the group’s latest results
and current and historic share prices
you may view an online version of this 
annual report at wwwrankcom 
visit us at 
wwwrankcom 
annual report and financial statements 2007
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 2007 our aim is to create 
fun and enjoyment for 
our customers through
gamingbased leisure
experiences 
we recognise our
responsibility to act at all
times with consideration for
our people our customers 
and the communities in 
which we operate
the rank group website provides news and
details of the group’s activities as well as useful
links the investor section contains a variety of
information including the group’s latest results
and current and historic share prices
you may view an online version of this 
annual report at wwwrankcom 
visit us at 
wwwrankcom 
annual report and financial statements 2007
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 2007 the best
game in town
25m
active customers
147
licensed gaming premises
8000
employees
cert no ttcoc002228
the forest stewardship council fsc is an
international network which promotes responsible
management of the world’s forests forest
certiﬁcation is combined with a system of product
labelling that allows consumers to readily identify
timberbased products from certiﬁed forests
designed black sun plc
printed by royle print the best
game in town
25m
active customers
147
licensed gaming premises
8000
employees
cert no ttcoc002228
the forest stewardship council fsc is an
international network which promotes responsible
management of the world’s forests forest
certiﬁcation is combined with a system of product
labelling that allows consumers to readily identify
timberbased products from certiﬁed forests
designed black sun plc
printed by royle print sign up for investor ecomms
www rankcominvestor
contents
business review 
contains details of the group’s ﬁnancial
performance strategy the key
performance indicators that the board
uses to measure progress against strategy
the principal risks facing the group and
our approach to operating responsibly
governance 
contains details on how the group 
is structured and governed 
statutory reports and
ﬁnancial statements 
contains reports from our auditors and
ﬁnancial statements detailing how the
group performed ﬁnancially throughout
the reported period
summary of contents
directors’ report business review
group at a glance 2
chairman’s statement 3 
chief executive’s review 4
the state of play market overview 9
keeping our focus operating review 15
strategy 16
bingo 17
casinos 19
interactive 20
the numbers finance review 21
tax contribution 25
operating responsibly 26
directors’ report governance 
board of directors 28 
remuneration report 30 
corporate governance 35 
other statutory information 38 
statement of directors’ responsibilities 39
statutory reports and ﬁnancial statements
independent auditors’ report 40
group income statement 41 
balance sheets 42
group statement of recognised income and expense 43 
cash ﬂow statements 44 
notes to the ﬁnancial statements 45 
other information
five year review 86 
shareholder information 87 
glossary 88 
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 1 group at a glance
bingo
mecca bingo
mecca bingo is a leading british
operator of bingo clubs the business 
is headquartered in maidenhead 
england and operates clubs under the 
mecca bingo brand in great britain
mecca bingo is distributed online by
blue square
revenue
£2405m
2006  £2617m
operating proﬁt
£436m
2006  £636m
casinos
grosvenor casinos
grosvenor casinos is a leading british
operator of casinos the business 
is headquartered in maidenhead
england and operates casinos under 
the grosvenor and g casinos brands 
in great britain and also operates two
casinos in belgium grosvenor casinos 
is distributed online by blue square
revenue
£209 5m
2006  £2176m
operating proﬁt
£299m
2006  £363m
interactive
blue square
blue square is rank’s interactive gaming
business comprising a sports betting
operation under the blue square brand
name and a variety of casino poker
bingo and games products blue square
provides online distribution of rank’s
retail gaming businesses through
– meccabingocom 
– grosvenorcasinoscom 
– grosvenorpokercom
revenue
£52 1 m
2006  £392m
operating proﬁt
£109m
2006  £78m
top rank españa
top rank españa operates 11 premium
bingo clubs in spain the business is
headquartered in barcelona spain and
operates clubs in the provinces of madrid
catalonia andalucia and galicia
revenue
£323m
2006  £311m
operating proﬁt
£93m
2006  £89m
revenue
£5344m
2006  £5496m
group operating proﬁt 
before exceptional items
£683m
2006  £732m
group operating proﬁt 
after exceptional items
£23 1m
2006  £1269m
special dividend per share
650p
full year dividend per share
20p
2006  60p
basic earnings per share
724p
2006  199p
adjusted earnings per share
74p
2006  46p
 before exceptional items 
 restated
financial highlights our businesses
directors’ report business review
2 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements chairman‘s statement
following a number of years of restructuring 
rank is now a focused gaming group the sale of
hard rock for 965m £502m and the associated
return to shareholders of £353m were the ﬁnal
stages in this process the group’s management
has concentrated on the operation of its gaming
businesses at a time when they have faced a
number of difﬁcult external conditions
three major changes affected the performance 
of the group in the year a substantial increase in
casino gaming duty announced in the government’s
budget in march 2007 the introductions of bans on
smoking in enclosed public spaces in wales april
and england july and the prohibition of section 21
gaming terminals upon the full implementation 
of the gambling act 2005 the ‘gambling act’ 
in september
this succession of events created a difﬁcult trading
environment during the second half of 2007 for our
uk retail businesses mecca bingo and grosvenor
casinos and contributed to a decline in group proﬁts
the board and senior management of rank
anticipated that the combination of these changes
would have a negative effect on group proﬁts but
under estimated the scale of the decline the group
is now focused on the actions necessary to stabilise
performance in the shortterm whilst considering
the mediumterm and longterm actions necessary
to regenerate growth 
in december 2007 we announced our decisions to
scale back capital expenditure to tighten further our
cost control measures and to cancel payment of the
ﬁnal dividend for 2007 it is the board’s intention to
reinstate dividend payments once we have seen a
sustained improvement in trading
having taken action to stabilise proﬁts our priority 
is now to generate improvements in revenue
principally through increased customer visits to 
our retail and interactive businesses
as we look to raise our game commercially we
recognise the need to maintain our high standards 
of responsible operation the values of responsibility
and fairness that underpin the gambling act also sit
at the heart of our business by setting an example
for the rest of the industry to follow we can help to
shape a better understood and more fairly regulated
environment for our businesses to operate in
peter johnson
chairman
for more information please visit 
www rankcom
having taken action to stabilise proﬁts our priority is now to
generate improvements in revenue principally through increased
customer visits to our retail and interactive businesses
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 3
965m sale of hard 
rock completed
£353m returned 
to shareholders via 
special dividend
gambling act 2005
implemented
smoking ban introduced 
in england and wales
substantial increase in rate 
of casino gaming duty
key events in 2007 summary of results – continuing operations
the group delivered growth in operating proﬁt for
the ﬁrst six months of the year but the second half
proved more difﬁcult as our bingo clubs and casinos
absorbed the negative effects of new legislation
higher taxation and a deteriorating economic
environment for consumers
revenue from continuing operations of £5344m 
was 28 lower than in 2006 while group
operating proﬁt of £683m was down 67 like for
like clubs revenue which excludes new openings
closures and relocations of bingo clubs and casinos
was 05 ahead of our performance in 2006
the decline in operating proﬁt was due in part 
to £69m of additional lease costs relating to the
2006 sale and leaseback transaction and £46m 
of incremental casino gaming duty arising from
taxation changes announced in the budget 2007
we achieved a net cost reduction of £180m in
group central costs and shared services although
this related in part to £89m of oneoff costs incurred
in 2006 excluding the effects of these oneoff costs
the duty increases and higher lease costs group
operating proﬁt was 28 lower than in 2006
blue square delivered the strongest performance in
the group achieving signiﬁcant growth in revenue
and operating proﬁt while revenue and operating
proﬁt in top rank españa recovered in part from the
effects of the partial smoking ban introduced in 2006
our two largest businesses mecca bingo and
grosvenor casinos both generated lower revenue
and operating proﬁt than in 2006 the lower 
proﬁt performance was due in part to higher lease
costs and in the case of grosvenor casinos the
increased rates of casino gaming duty introduced 
in april 2007 during the ﬁnal four months of the
year revenue in both businesses fell as the 
negative effects of the smoking ban and the loss 
of section 21 gaming terminals required by the
gambling act were compounded by a 
deterioration in consumer conﬁdence
in 2007 the group has incurred £452m of
exceptional losses chieﬂy related to the impairment
of assets and creation of onerous lease provisions in
mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos full details are
provided in the ﬁnance review
chief executive’s review
after making a strong start to our ﬁrst year as a focused gaming business 
we experienced a signiﬁcant deterioration in trading conditions in the second
half for our uk retail businesses mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos
stabilise group performance
increase customer visits
campaign for fair taxation
revenue £m operating proﬁt £m
2007 2006 2007 2006
restated
mecca bingo 2405 2617 436 636
top rank españa 323 311 93 89
grosvenor casinos 2095 2176 299 363
blue square 521 392 109 78
shared services 185 260
central costs 69 174
continuing operations 5344 5496 683 732
4 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
 before exceptional items
the group has restated its ﬁnancial results for 2006 to reﬂect changes in accounting policy relating to exceptional items and the net
return on the deﬁned beneﬁt asset a restatement of group full year proﬁts for 2006 is contained in note 39 to the ﬁnancial statements
in addition a number of key performance indicators have been restated on a like for like rather than absolute basis this more
accurately reﬂects the underlying performances of the group’s businesses
2008 priorities
directors’ report business review during 2007 we created
external bingo enclosures at
30 of our mecca bingo clubs
this innovation proved
popular with customers and
helped to protect revenues in
the second half of the year
for more information please visit 
www rankcom
we remain committed to our vision of creating 
the uk’s leading gaming group with a longterm
strategy to generate shareholder value through the
development of gamingbased leisure businesses 
we continue to develop a range of differentiated
betting and gaming products geared to different
segments of the adult population and distributed
through a variety of retail and interactive channels 
our focus is on increasing the number of visits to our
businesses by rewarding our most loyal customers
reaching out to engage with new customers and
delivering a consistently high level of service and
product to all of our customers
our immediate aim in 2008 is to stabilise the group
performance in what is expected to be a difﬁcult 
year for the leisure sector balancing nearterm
ﬁnancial requirements with the longterm growth
opportunities for our businesses consequently 
we have reviewed our capital spending plans and 
reﬁned a number of the expansion and portfolio
enhancement targets that we set at the time of 
our interim results in august 2007
adapt businesses to protect revenue
during 2007 we introduced a number of innovations
designed speciﬁcally to address the challenge of the
smoking ban our principal aim was to adapt our
bingo clubs and casinos to preserve enjoyment for
smoking as well as nonsmoking customers
in the year we completed the ﬁrst phase of 
this programme erecting sheltered areas at the 
majority of our mecca bingo clubs and grosvenor
casinos we introduced a total of 720 interval 
bingo playing positions into the shelters at 30 
of our mecca bingo clubs having obtained the
necessary local licensing and planning approvals
these shelters proved popular with customers
generating incremental revenue for the clubs 
and supporting club prizeboards
the second phase of this programme to expand 
and improve the sheltered enclosures at selected
clubs is currently underway in mecca bingo we are
now operating interval bingo in 39 of our outside
enclosures and we have obtained gaming licensing
approval to extend this to a further two clubs we
plan to have developed outside gaming at 50 of 
our clubs by the end of the current year
tighten cost controls to deliver savings
we have targeted a further £15m of cost reductions
across the group during 2008 this is based upon 
a series of margin protection measures identiﬁed
during the ﬁnal quarter of 2007 which included 
strategic priorities
stabilise group performance
reduction of marketing and promotional 
expenditure in mecca bingo and grosvenor 
casinos a deferral of annual pay reviews greater
purchasing and operating efﬁciencies and a small
number of redundancies
this package of cost savings is in addition to 
the signiﬁcant cost savings delivered in 2007
selective capital investment
given the changes affecting our businesses and 
the current economic volatility we have decided 
to prioritise capital spending and to defer a number
of major capital projects among these projects 
are plans to refurbish a number of our grosvenor 
casinos and rebrand them under the g casino
name we will keep all expenditure under review 
and plan to commence development projects as 
the trading environment improves
the development of the g casinos in aberdeen 
and dundee are not affected by our revision of
capital expenditure and are scheduled to open in
2008 and 2009 respectively our new g casino 
at thanet in kent opened in february 2008 
improve product offer and customer service
our portfolio of businesses allows us to target
different segments of the uk adult population 
with a range of gaming and nongaming products
including bingo casino games gaming machines
poker sports betting and food and drink our 
ability to innovate subject to any regulatory
restrictions is an important part of our strategy 
to attract and retain customers
gaming products
during 2007 we extended the rollout of electronic
bingo to 99 of our mecca bingo clubs principally
through the use of handheld terminals this
involved the testing and trial of ﬁve different models
of handheld units sourced from suppliers in the uk
and in north america by the end of the year we had
more than 5000 handheld and desktop units across
these clubs in addition we currently have 178
electronic bingo positions across our 11 top rank
españa bingo clubs in spain
the most immediate beneﬁt of electronic bingo 
is that it allows customers to play a higher number 
of bingo tickets per game during 2008 we will
continue to develop electronic bingo and are at
present testing an enhanced product that allows 
for richer games content and greater interactivity 
in late 2006 we introduced video bingo into two of
our top rank españa clubs following the success of
this trial we adapted the product and launched it in
the uk at ﬁve of our mecca bingo clubs in january
2008 video bingo terminals allow customers across
our clubs portfolio to play individual automated
games of bingo against each other 
sustainable growth 
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 5 in january 2008 nonleague
havant and waterlooville fc
who play in the blue square
south reached the fourth
round of the fa cup
following a review of our gaming machines estate
we are making a range of improvements both 
in mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos during 
the second half of 2007 we initiated a trial of
serverbased gaming machines in three of our 
mecca bingo clubs and in 2008 we will replace a
signiﬁcant number of machines to deliver a more
efﬁcient mix of products
under the gambling act 2005 it has become 
simpler to test new casino games and we have
introduced a number of new games and sidebets
into our casinos we will continue to explore
opportunities to adopt successful casino games 
from other gaming jurisdictions
in blue square we are extending our sports betting
coverage to incorporate a range of international
sports as part of the overseas development of 
the business 
nongaming products
we recognise that our food and beverage offers in
mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos have not kept
pace with developments in the eatingout market
and that we need to improve our menus our service
skills and our systems 
in 2007 we tested a number of new catering
concepts in mecca bingo with a focus on quality
value and convenience and we are appointing
dedicated food and beverage managers in a number
of our larger casinos and bingo clubs to support this
we will complete the installation of a new electronic
point of sale system in grosvenor casinos during the
ﬁrst half of 2008 a similar project for mecca bingo
will be underway shortly 
reward loyal customers and engage 
with new customers
reward loyal customers
in 2008 we will launch a new customer rewards
programme for customers of grosvenor and 
g casinos deploying the worldleading bally 
system in a number of our casinos on a trial basis
this will enable us to provide additional beneﬁts 
to our most loyal customers and will help us to 
gain a greater understanding of customer
preferences and playing patterns
we are currently exploring loyalty programmes 
for mecca bingo and for blue square’s interactive
gaming and betting products and aim to introduce
schemes for each business in the current year 
engage with new customers
across the group we have stepped up our efforts 
to grow our customer base through a targeted
approach to new member marketing
in mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos we are 
using offerbased direct marketing member referral
schemes and new member sales managers to 
attract new and lapsed customers
during the ﬁnal quarter of 2007 grosvenor 
casinos launched its ﬁrst press and radio consumer
advertising campaign as a result of the gambling
act’s relaxation of advertising restrictions for gaming
companies providing local sales and marketing
support for 18 of our casinos while we do not
anticipate material expenditure on casino advertising
in 2008 the potential to create greater consumer
awareness and understanding of our casinos is
expected to be signiﬁcant in the long term
during 2007 blue square stepped up its marketing
programme with a series of sponsorships designed
to raise awareness of the brand in its key markets
the ﬂagship events were
– horse racing – blue square nassau
stakesstewards cup televised on bbc1
– greyhound racing – blue square greyhound
derby televised on sky sports
– nonleague football – blue square premier blue
square north and blue square south televised 
on setanta sports
– darts – blue square uk darts open televised 
on sky sports
– poker – blue square grosvenor uk poker tour
televised on channel 4
these ﬁve sponsorships achieved widespread
coverage for blue square on terrestrial and digital
television in 2007 which included only half a season
of the blue square premier 
extend reach through development of retail 
and interactive distribution channels
mecca bingo
although the sector is experiencing a period of
volatility bingo remains a highly popular leisure
pursuit in the uk in the long term we aim to grow
the number of bingo players in the uk through 
club and interactive development in recent years
however we have had to shrink our clubs portfolio 
in the face of high taxation changes in customer
preferences adverse changes to gaming regulations
and the effects of the smoking ban 
during 2007 we closed 11 bingo clubs ten in 
the ﬁrst half one in the second half which we
considered particularly vulnerable in the light of the
smoking ban typically these clubs of which eight
were owned on a freehold basis presented limited
scope for modernisation or adaptation and a small
number offered greater value under alternative use 
at 31 december 2007 we had completed the
disposal of six of the freehold properties for an
aggregate consideration of £232m reporting a
£172m proﬁt on disposal net of associated closure
costs at present we have no plans for further club
closures although we will continue to keep our
portfolio under review
in february 2008 we opened a new mecca bingo
club at thanet in kent taking our total number of
clubs to 103 
chief executive’s review continued
6 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
directors’ report business review in september 2007 we
rebranded the hard rock
casino in london’s leicester
square which became our
fourth g casino
for more information please visit 
www rankcom
although we have identiﬁed a number of additional
locations where we intend to open new clubs 
we have decided to suspend further new club
development until we have greater visibility over
trading conditions
in addition we have examined opportunities to
maximise the returns on our assets through the
development of adult gaming centres within 
those properties where we have excess space 
we opened our ﬁrst adult gaming centre in ashford
in january 2008 
top rank españa
we continue to monitor the development of the
gambling market in spain to assess opportunities 
for our spanish bingo clubs business 
grosvenor casinos
our strategy to grow our active customer base is
supported by a programme of casino development
in 2007 our g casinos concept launched in
manchester in 2006 was extended to luton 
licence relocation blackpool and london’s leicester
square rebranding the grosvenor and hard rock
casinos respectively 
g casinos are aimed at the mainstream leisure
market and typically occupy large sites in highproﬁle
and easily accessible locations as well as featuring
spacious and modern gaming areas a signiﬁcant
proportion of the g casino is set aside for soft
gaming parimutuel such as poker or nongaming
activities through the provision of live entertainment
sports and media lounges bars and restaurants
with the opening of g casinos in thanet and
aberdeen during 2008 the brand will have been
extended to six locations by the end of the year
in december 2007 we closed our lossmaking
grosvenor casino in liverpool although in time 
we expect to relocate the licence to an improved 
site in the city
at present we operate 32 casinos in great britain 
and we hold licences to operate casinos in a further
13 locations this includes the two new licences 
that were granted under the 1968 gaming act 
the ‘1968 act’ to grosvenor casinos in 2007 
at southendonsea and at edinburgh our non
operating 1968 act casino licences present signiﬁcant
scope for the business to widen its distribution
we expect to have opened ﬁve new casinos
including g casino aberdeen by 2012 in addition
we will seek to relocate a number of licences and
invest selectively in the modernisation and extension
of existing casinos the slightly slower pace of
development than indicated previously reﬂects 
this year’s revised capital spending plans and is
representative of a more general slowing in new
supply across the market 
since april 2006 there has been a moratorium in
effect on the submission of applications for new
casino licences under the 1968 act although a
number of applications submitted prior to april 2006
are still to be determined the success rate is low
nine out of 30 applications were granted in 2007
only four of which were in markets where grosvenor
operates and we have started to see a number of
casino closures as a consequence we anticipate 
that by 2012 there will be fewer than 160 casinos
operating in great britain under the 1968 act
the government has announced its intention to
proceed with the development of 16 new generation
casinos provided for within the gambling act we
remain interested in a small number of the licences
and believe that our track record of responsible and
innovative operation of casinos in britain is a strong
asset however at present it is not clear whether the
order to approve the locations of these licences will
be approved by parliament how the bidding process
will work and precisely what operating conditions
will apply to the new casinos
blue square
during 2007 blue square continued to extend its
customer reach through agreements with virgin
media to offer blue square sports betting and 
bingo to virgin’s broadband internet customers 
and probability games to provide mobile phone
versions of popular casino games 
during the ﬁrst half of 2008 we will launch
bingouniversalcom an online bingo and gaming
website for the spanish market and we will begin
offering multilingual multicurrency sports betting
services to customers of 888com under a ‘white
label’ agreement
during 2007 we stepped up our campaign for 
a level playing ﬁeld across the gambling industry
through the application of fair and consistent tax 
and regulatory policies
the focus of our efforts was the pursuit of a change
in taxation for bingo which unlike any other form 
of gambling in the uk is subject to both 175 
value added tax vat and 15 gross proﬁts tax
gpt it is disappointing that in spite of repeated
questions from members of parliament and the
bingo association the government has yet to
provide a satisfactory explanation for its continued
discrimination against bingo
the government’s decision to increase casino
gaming duty in the budget 2007 cost grosvenor
casinos an additional £46m in gaming duty 
the change which was introduced without prior
notiﬁcation or consultation with the casinos industry
resulted in a 226 increase in casino gaming duty
although some of our smaller casinos experienced
duty rises of as much as 500 
hm treasury has stated that it is reviewing the
taxation treatment of playertoplayer poker played
in casinos the effect of applying gpt to poker fees 
gambling taxation
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 7 chief executive’s review continued
in addition to vat would not be material in terms
of group proﬁts but would nevertheless discourage
investment in poker rooms which represent a softer
gaming aspect to casino operations we would
consider such a move to be contradictory to the
stated aims of the government’s gambling policy
on 28 february 2008 we announced that we had
entered into a series of agreements with the t rustee 
of the rank pension plan and rothesay life a wholly
owned subsidiary of goldman sachs to transfer the
assets and liabilities of the pension plan to rothesay life
the transfer will secure the accrued beneﬁts for the
members of the pension plan and will remove the
remaining ﬁnancial risks and liabilities in relation to
the pension plan from rank as a result of the
transfer rank will no longer be required to make
remaining scheduled contributions totalling £308m
which the group agreed with the pension trustee 
at the time of the sale of deluxe film in 2006
upon completion of the transfer rank expects 
to receive a cash payment of at least £20m
representing the groups allocation of the expected
surplus within the pension plan after an appropriate
sharing with the plans members and any anticipated
costs including tax associated with the transfer
the transfer is subject to clearance from hm revenue
and customs regarding the tax treatment of the
transfer rank expects this clearance to be obtained
by may 2008 with completion of the transfer
expected in june 2008
payment of special dividend
on 5 march 2007 we completed the 965m
£502m disposal of hard rock to seminole hard
rock entertainment inc a whollyowned subsidiary
of the seminole tribe of florida as a consequence
we were able to return £353m to shareholders via 
a 650p per share special dividend which was paid
on 9 april 2007 the special dividend payment was
accompanied by an 18 for 25 share consolidation
on 12 october 2007 the group paid an interim
dividend of 20p per share however as a result 
of the difﬁcult and uncertain trading environment
the board announced on 12 december 2007 that it
had decided not to pay a ﬁnal dividend for the year
the board intends to resume dividend payments
once trading conditions and the market outlook 
have improved
dividend
hard rock
pension plan
8 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
in october 2007 chancellor 
of the exchequer alistair
darling mp visited his local
mecca bingo club at fountain
park in edinburgh to listen to
customer and employee calls
for an end to ‘double taxation’
we announced at the time of our last market update
in december 2007 that trading had stabilised in
mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos in the nineweek
period since 7 october during the ﬁrst eight weeks
of 2008 this position has been broadly maintained 
in grosvenor casinos with a modest improvement 
in mecca bingo
during the period group revenue declined by
103 on a like for like basis against the ﬁrst eight
weeks in 2007
in mecca bingo like for like revenue was 135
lower than in the ﬁrst eight weeks in 2007 with
admissions down by 136 and spend per head up
01 this compares with the 173 fall in revenue
experienced during the 17 weeks from the start of
september 2007 when the gambling act was
implemented to the end of the year 
in grosvenor casinos like for like revenue was 
134 lower than in the ﬁrst eight weeks in 2007
with admissions down 134 and spend per head
level this performance reﬂects a good comparative
trading period in 2007 the effects of competitor
openings on a small number of our casinos and a
reduction in promotional expenditure at the start 
of 2008 in absolute revenue terms we have
continued to trade in line with the ﬁnal 17 
weeks in 2007
in blue square revenue grew by 149 with a
strong improvement in gaming but continued
weakness from our sportsbook 
the board believes that 2008 will be a challenging
year for ranks businesses as they continue to
respond to changes in the legislative and economic
environment the priority for the group is to stabilise
performance while retaining a focus on the longer
term opportunities for growth in the gaming sector 
ian burke
chief executive
yearonyear revenue growth for the eight weeks
to 24 february 2008
like for like 
revenue  total revenue 
mecca bingo 135 168
top rank españa 27 27
grosvenor casinos 134 122
blue square 149 149
group 103 110 
 excludes new club openings closures and relocations
outlook
directors’ report business review a report on changes 
in market dynamics
regulation and 
societal attitudes
towards gambling 
in great britain
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 9 10 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
in 2007 more than twothirds of adults in britain
participated in at least one form of gambling
while on the face of it this statistic represents a
slight decline compared with the previous survey
in 1999 it masks a change in the pattern of
gambling expenditure and the resultant growth 
in the economic signiﬁcance of the market
overall participation remains steady
the british gambling prevalence survey published 
in september 2007 reported that 32 million adults 
in britain 68 of the adult population gamble
although this represents a modest decline against 
the 72 recorded in 1999 the drop was due to a
reduction in players of the national lottery lottery
scratchcards and football pools 
the major areas of growth between 1999 and 2007
were two new products – betting and gaming
websites played by 6 of the adult population 
and fixed odds betting terminals fobts in licensed
betting ofﬁces 4 neither of which featured in the
1999 survey there was an increase in participation 
in casino gaming up from 3 to 4 while the
usage of bingo clubs remained steady at 7 
of the adult population
in december 2007 the gambling commission
published a separate report on the prevalence of
remote gambling the use of the internet mobile
phone or interactive television to gamble the 
report revealed that the national lottery is the most
popular form of online gambling followed by sports
betting poker casino and bingo interestingly while
the penetration of online poker in great britain
declined and casino games remained static sports
betting and bingo both achieved strong growth
compared with 2006
men between the ages of 18 and 34 remain the most
likely to participate in remote gambling and while the
personal computer remains the most common means
of gambling remotely the use of mobile phone
technology for gambling has grown strongly 
the popularity of remote gambling would appear to be
set for further growth as technological developments
expand the range of gaming and betting opportunities
and as broadband penetration increases
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007e
2008f
2009f
2010f
2011f
76
85
97 97 97 99
104
107
109
113
uk gambling revenues £bn
abc d e f g h i j kl m
68
57
20
17
14
12
7 6 6
5
4
3 3
gambling activities in great britain
 of adult population
a report on changes to market dynamics regulations
and societal attitudes towards gambling in great britain
betting and gambling remain highly popular
culturally ingrained and economically important
leisure activities in great britain
for more than 40 years the nation has 
beneﬁted from the existence of a commercial
wellregulated and highly taxed mainstream
gambling industry over that period the
regulations that deﬁne the legal parameters of
gambling have changed largely for the beneﬁt 
of the industry and society at large despite 
this gradual regulatory progression the
implementation of the gambling act 2005 in
september 2007 represented a shift in the
landscape of gambling in great britain 
although controversy has surrounded the
gambling act it is difﬁcult to contend that its
aims – to keep crime out to ensure fairness and
to protect children and other vulnerable people –
are not desirable a major overhaul of britain’s
gambling laws was necessary to accommodate
changes in technology and shifting societal views
media opposition to the gambling act and in
particular the creation of a new breed of ‘super
casinos’ has resulted in a period of volatility for
the gambling industry it remains to be seen
whether this will prove to be another of the short
periods of regression that have punctuated the
general progress of gambling in great britain in
modern times
a total
b national lottery
c scratchcards
d horse races
e slot machines 
f private lotteries
g bingo
h sports betting
i online gambling
j dog races
k casino
l fobts
m football pools
the british gambling prevalence survey
published in september 2007 revealed
that 68 of british adults gamble
source keynote research october 2007
e  estimates f  forecasts
top ten gambling companies 
by uk revenue
revenue £m year ending
gala coral 1268 sept 2007
ladbrokes 1125 dec 2007
william hill 940 dec 2007
camelot 583 mar 2007
rank group 489 dec 2007
tote 218 mar 2007
genting stanley 193 apr 2006
betfred 133apr 2007
partygaming 118 dec 2006
betfair 113 apr 2007
not all the companies provide geographical breakdowns of
revenue figures quoted above may include a small amount
of nonuk revenues 
source company research
the state of play market overview
source british gambling prevalence survey 2007
 excludes betting on horse racing and dog racing
directors’ report business review the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 11
in 2007 the shift in the constitution of the gambling
sector in britain continued with growth in the supply
of licensed betting ofﬁces and decline for bingo clubs
and adult gaming centres the number of casinos
operating increased only slightly although there was
substantial investment in enhancing the quality and
scale of individual casinos
bingo clubs
the number of licensed bingo clubs operating in
great britain dropped by 43 between february
2007 and february 2008 due largely to the effects 
of the smoking ban adverse changes relating to 
the gambling act and the ongoing burden of 
double taxation
in february 2008 gala bingo and mecca bingo
remained britain’s largest bingo club operators 
with 164 clubs and 103 clubs respectively over the
previous 12 months mecca bingo closed 11 clubs
and opened one while gala bingo closed eight and
opened two in addition there was a large number 
of closures of independently owned clubs the bingo
association has warned that unless bingo taxation is
harmonised with general betting duty bingo club
closures will accelerate in the year ahead 
casino
in february 2008 the number of casinos operating 
in great britain stood at 144 a modest increase 
over the previous year there were eight new
openings and three closures the new openings
included two of the largest and most modern casinos
ever seen in the uk each developed by a us gaming
group in may harrah’s opened the casino at the
empire in london’s leicester square while in july 
isle of capri opened a major new casino in coventry
in addition aspers the australianbacked company
opened the largest casino in wales at swansea in
september 2007
in 2007 local licensing authorities dealt with a large
number of new licence applications for casinos under
the 1968 gaming act of the 30 licence applications
determined in 2007 nine were granted including
two for grosvenor casinos and 21 were refused or
withdrawn in february 2008 there were 38 non
operating licences in great britain and although a
number of appeals are due to be heard in 2008 it
seems unlikely that this number will rise signiﬁcantly
in the medium term
genting stanley remains the largest casino company
in britain with 46 operating casinos and an additional
seven licences which are not currently operating
rank’s grosvenor casinos is the second largest
company with 32 operating casinos and 13 non
operating licences 
with 26 casinos london remains the city with the
highest number of casinos operating more than any
other capital city in europe followed by birmingham
and manchester
during 2008 it is expected that at least ﬁve new
casinos will be developed including new openings in
aberdeen rank leeds london clubs and glasgow
london clubs 
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
688
699 696
678
657
644
616
number of bingo clubs operating in 
great britain to february 2008
bingo club operators in great britain
operator february 2008 february 2007
gala bingo 164 170
mecca bingo 103 113
top ten bingo 38 43
carlton clubs 16 17
riva bingo 13 8
buckingham bingo 12 11
others 270 282
total 616 644
sustained growth in value of market
in terms of revenue the gambling sector of the 
leisure market has enjoyed sustained growth over
recent years keynote research estimated that in
2007 the british gambling market was worth
£985bn calculated as amounts staked less winnings
having achieved compound annual growth of 52
since 2002 gambling now constitutes 164 of
british expenditure on leisure activities outside the
home compared with 137 in 2002
keynote research forecasts that the annual rate of
growth will slow to 35 over the next four years
with the value of the gambling market reaching
£1126bn in 2011
britain is not simply a signiﬁcant consumer market
for gambling it is also a major investment market
for gambling companies at the end of 2007 there
were 27 different betting and gaming companies
listed in london with a combined market
capitalisation of £77bn 
a difﬁcult year ahead for gambling
while a number of legislative uncertainties were
removed with the implementation of the gambling
act in september 2007 the economic outlook
suggests that 2008 will be a difﬁcult year the ernst 
 young item club has predicted that growth in 
the uk gross domestic product will slow from 31 
in 2007 to 18 in 2008 with rising cost pressures
facing consumers market commentators believe 
that conditions will become progressively tougher 
for many companies in the travel and leisure sector
in 2008
on the other hand britain’s gambling companies will
be hoping that a more settled and certain regulatory
environment after the upheaval of the gambling act
will allow them to focus more attention on their
operations in 2008
despite the breadth of the gambling market 
it remains dominated by a small number of
companies operating mainly in the bookmaking
bingo gaming machine and casino sectors and
their online equivalents
top ten casino markets in great britain 
by number of casinos 
february february
2008 2007
london 26 0 25 1
birmingham 7 1 7 1
manchester 6 2 6 1
glasgow 5 4 5 4
bristol 5 0 5 0
edinburgh 4 1 4 0
leeds 4 1 4 1
nottingham 4 2 2 3
liverpool 3 2 4 1
shefﬁeld 3 2 3 1
2003
2002
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
122
126
131
138
140
138
144
number of casinos operating 
in great britain to february 2008
source gambling commissioncompany research
source gambling commissioncompany research
source gambling commissioncompany research
nonoperating licences shown in brackets
source gambling commissioncompany research 12 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
however a number of smaller clubs which were
affected most dramatically by the 2007 rise in 
casino gaming duty are expected to close in 
january 2008 gala casinos was reported in the 
press to be considering the closure of three of its
provincial casinos
remote gambling
remote gambling continues to be a highly
competitive marketplace the prohibition of online
gaming and betting in the usa via the unlawful
internet gambling enforcement act late in 2006 
has prompted operators to focus more heavily on
european and asian countries unlike many other
parts of europe remote gambling is legal in the uk 
the national lottery operator camelot remains the
most popular online gambling company in the uk
measured in terms of numbers of customers the
leading operators in the interactive betting and
gaming sector are a mix of traditional bookmakers
including ladbrokes william hill and gala coral and
specialist online operators such as partygaming
betfair 888 holdings and rank’s blue square
the broader market – other betting and gaming
licensed betting ofﬁces 
in 2007 there were an estimated 8700 licensed
betting ofﬁces operating in britain approximately
twothirds of the outlets were operated by the ‘big
three’ of ladbrokes 2141 william hill 2208 and
coral 1566 the removal of the ‘demand test’
whereby a licence applicant needed to prove
unsatisﬁed local demand and the growing
proﬁtability of b2 gaming machines formerly
classiﬁed as fobts has led to the entrance of 
a number of new operators to this market
adult gaming centres
in 2007 there were an estimated 950 adult gaming
centres operating in great britain the abolition of 
the section 16 gaming terminal and the smoking 
ban are believed to have damaged the sector which
is expected to experience a decline in 2008
the full implementation of the gambling act 
on 1 september 2007 was intended as the
culmination of the modernisation of britain’s
gambling laws the act replaced the 1968 gaming
act and the betting gaming and lotteries act
1963 bringing almost all forms of gambling under
a single piece of legislation and subject to one
regulator in the gambling commission only
spread betting and the national lottery remain
outside the commission’s scope yet what started
out as a necessary and modernising piece of
legislation has become mired in controversy and
even now almost three years after its enactment
and six months after its full implementation the
exact nature of some of the changes brought
about by the gambling act remain unclear 
the gambling act and a new breed of casinos
on 20 january 2007 the casino advisory panel cap
announced the prospective locations of 17 ‘new
generation’ casinos provided for within the gambling
act under the terms of the act these casinos
categorised as eight ‘small’ eight ‘large’ and one
‘regional’ or ‘super casino’ were to be permitted 
a broader range of gambling products including
sports betting and a signiﬁcantly greater allocation 
of gaming machines than in existing british casinos
the cap’s announcement was expected to spark a
phase of investment in large modern british casinos
instead the progress of this facet of the gambling 
act has been characterised by controversy and
political indecision
two events in the space of eight days in march 2007
destabilised government policy on the new casinos
on 21 march gordon brown in his ﬁnal budget as
chancellor of the exchequer announced a sudden
and substantial rise in casino gaming duty prompting
speculation that investment in some of the new
casinos would no longer be viable
one week later on 28 march the house of lords
defeated the government’s statutory instrument to
conﬁrm the cap’s choice of locations
meanwhile the british casino association added 
its voice to the growing disquiet claiming that the
establishment of the new casinos would place 
existing casinos which are not permitted to offer
sports betting and are restricted to just 20 gaming
machines regardless of scale or demand at a
disadvantage the decision to locate 11 of the 17
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2007
2006
all
national
lottery
poker
betting
slots
other
lotteries
casino
bingo
football
pools
participation in remote gambling in 
great britain  of adult population
the state of play market overview continued
casino operators in great britain
february february
operator 2008 2007
genting stanley 46 7 46 5
grosvenor casinos 32 13 33 10
gala casinos 30 1 30 1
harrah’s lci 10 2 7 5
as leisure 6 0 6 0
isle of capri 3 1 2 2
aspersaspinall’s 3 1 2 2
clockfair ltd 2 0 2 0
guoco 1 4 1 2
others 11 9 9 8
total 144 38 138 35
nonoperating licenses shown in brackets
source gambling commissioncompany research
source gambling commission
directors’ report business review the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 13
licences in existing ‘permitted areas’ the 53 local
authorities permitted to host casinos under the 1968
act has been particularly contentious
on 26 february 2008 the secretary of state for
culture media and sport andy burnham mp 
announced that the government intended to press
ahead with the eight large and eight small casinos
but that the regional casino licence which had been
awarded to manchester would not proceed the
order for the 16 locations requires the approval of
both the house of commons and the house of lords
which had not been secured at time of publication
in addition the department of culture media and
sport has yet to issue guidelines for the licence
bidding process and a number of critical regulatory
questions including the precise basis for the
allocation of gaming machines remain unanswered
advertising
the gambling act relaxed a number of restrictions
on the ability of gambling companies to advertise
their services 
gambling companies may now advertise on television
after the nine o’clock ‘watershed’ although the
national lottery and bingo clubs may advertise at any
time and sports betting advertising is permitted prior to
the watershed if it accompanies sports programming
in addition casinos are now allowed to advertise 
in newspapers and on radio which hitherto had 
been prohibited
clear advertising guidelines have been established to
encourage responsible attitudes towards gambling
although these guidelines do not apply to the
national lottery it is hoped that in time the ability to
advertise in a responsible fashion will help the industry
to become more transparent and better understood
electronic gaming – steps forward steps backward
the reclassiﬁcation of gaming machines and
electronic gaming terminals under the gambling 
act has created both winners and losers across the
gambling industry
the clearest beneﬁciary of the gambling act is the
bookmaking sector which gained legitimacy for its
fobts now reclassiﬁed as b2 gaming machines 
the gambling act has allowed bookmakers to install
up to four machines per outlet creating provision for
as many as 35000 b2 machines nationwide and to
expand its range of games to incorporate virtual
roulette poker blackjack and bingo during the ﬁnal
quarter of 2007 the major high street bookmakers
reported signiﬁcant growth in machines revenue
related to these changes
adult gaming centres and bingo clubs are the two
sectors that appear to have lost most from the
gambling act’s revisions to electronic gaming the
declassiﬁcation of the £500 jackpot section 16 and
section 21 gaming terminals forced the removal of
the two most popular electronic gaming products in
adult gaming centres and bingo clubs respectively 
across the bingo industry around 2700 section 21
terminals were declassiﬁed both bingo operators and
adult gaming centre operators alike reported signiﬁcant
declines in revenue during the ﬁnal quarter of 2007
although casinos also lost the ability to offer section
21 terminals the effect on revenues of this prohibition
has not been as great as in bingo clubs 
in march 2007 the gambling commission recorded
that the highest concentrations of gaming machines
were to be found in arcades adult gaming centres
and family entertainment centres and pubs while
casinos and bingo clubs accounted for relatively
small numbers of machines 
it is anticipated that the next report from the
gambling commission will show machines growth
in licensed betting ofﬁces and regression in bingo
clubs adult gaming centres and casinos
the attitude of society towards gambling has 
long been ambiguous despite the fact that 
the overwhelming majority of adults in great
britain gamble society as a whole appears to 
view the concept of ‘gambling’ with something
approaching disapproval
for the gambling industry in the 21st century this 
is a signiﬁcant paradox if laws exist to deﬁne the
parameters of what society believes is acceptable and
permissible ambiguity between popular opinion and
popular demand can have a distortive effect on the
regulation of commerce
whether the media shapes or reﬂects public opinion
its inﬂuence on public policy is unquestionable the
outpouring of moral indignation from certain quarters
of the national press over the enactment and
subsequent implementation of the gambling act has
arguably coloured political views on gambling reform
and affected the manner in which gambling
regulations have been revised
the apparent willingness of the government 
to bend to media pressure in ‘watering down’
legislative reform at least one national newspaper
has claimed openly to have inﬂuenced gambling
policy in britain is a worrying development for all
companies involved in the industry 
gambling act 2005
9
9
13

6
31
28
locations of gaming machines
clubs
bingo clubs 
licensed betting
ofﬁces 
adult gaming 
centres 
family 
entertainment 
centres 
other
casinos
pubs
bingo clubs and casinos account 
for a relatively small proportion of
gaming machines in great britain 
as a consequence of the gambling
act the number of gaming
machines in bingo clubs and casinos
is believed to have fallen while the
number in licensed betting ofﬁces 
is believed to have grown
the gambling act 2005 is an
important piece of modernising
legislation however its introduction
has resulted in a number of negative
changes for operators of bingo clubs
and casinos
source gambling commission 14 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
the attitudes of the british public the popular press
and government are marked by ambiguity towards
gambling yet beneath the surface of newspaper
headlines and political soundbites lies a far more
complex picture of double standards and vested
interests this suggests that the industry may be
passing through one of the periods of volatility that
characteristically have punctuated the progress of
gambling in great britain
public opinion – the gambling prevalence study
the british gambling prevalence study 2007
highlights the longrunning contradiction in society’s
attitude towards betting and games of chance that
while 68 of british adults gamble 75 hold
negative views on gambling
differences of opinion about what constitutes
gambling may lie at the heart of this apparent
contradiction a number of forms of gambling 
such as buying a national lottery ticket or placing 
a bet on the grand national have become ingrained
in british culture and are actively promoted by the
nation’s media
by contrast those forms of gambling that have
lower participation rates and which are less visible 
in terms of advertising typically suffer from more
negative public perceptions at present just 4 
of adults in great britain visit casinos the corollary
of this is that 96 of people acquire their views of
casinos by indirect means often through the media 
yet if the public opinion towards gambling is mixed
the views and interests of the media are more
complex still
the media – moral opposition or vested interest
the hostile reception from many quarters of the
national press to the gambling act sits uneasily with
the fact that in 2007 nearly all of britain’s major news
and media groups beneﬁted ﬁnancially from the
gambling activities of their readers and viewers 
for years most national newspapers have generated
substantial advertising revenues from bookmaking
ﬁrms something which the growth of online
newspapers and online betting has helped to
increase however in recent years the media’s
involvement in gambling has become more
participative and in 2007 almost all of britain’s
national newspaper groups operated or licensed
gambling websites generally domiciled outside 
the uk 
in spite of clear vested interests the national press 
has on balance taken a dim editorial view of
gambling and of casino gambling in particular it is
possible that the prohibition of casino advertising to
consumers only recently lifted has made the sector 
a soft target for the media it is certainly difﬁcult to
reconcile the negative image of casinos portrayed in
the popular press with the reports from gamcare the
problem gambling charity that just 53 of its clients
cite casinos as a primary mode of gambling 
in the long term it is questionable whether the
paradox that exists between the media’s antipathy
towards gambling and its own deeprooted ﬁnancial
interest is sustainable it is likely that any softening in
the views of the popular press towards gambling
businesses – and casinos in particular – would have a
positive effect on the framing of gambling regulations
government – switching horses
the current british government has led the long
overdue and much needed overhaul of the nation’s
gambling laws the gambling act which received
royal assent in april 2005 is the product of that
process of modernisation
however there are suggestions that the government
has since undergone a radical transformation in its
approach to gambling reform proponents of the
view that there is a reactionary spirit abroad in
whitehall cite the shock rise in casino gaming duty
announced in march 2007 unattributed comments
in the press from westminster ‘insiders’ and even the
presbyterian convictions of the prime minister’s father
against this must be set the afﬁrmative voting records
on the gambling act of gordon brown and his entire
cabinet the absence of any ofﬁcial changes to policy
and the value of gambling’s substantial contribution to
the british economy the object of the government’s
stated policy remains the creation of a successful
legitimate responsible and wellregulated terrestrial
and remote gambling industry in great britain
criticism of the gambling act both from supporters
and opponents of gambling has been targeted at the
detail of the regulations that it has spawned posterity
will judge whether the government has succeeded in
creating a regulatory framework that allows gambling
laws to recognise and adapt to changes in technology
and to shift in sympathy with societal views 
it has to be in the broader interests of society that the
gambling act is allowed to achieve its goals to keep
crime out of gambling to ensure fairness and to
protect children and other vulnerable people in the
long term heightened understanding of gambling’s
place in society will breed greater tolerance and better
laws more immediate reform is probably dependent
on the ability of the press to sustain a balancing act
between commercial selfinterest and a good story
the state of play market overview continued
427
259
114 110
53
38
abc d e f
problem gambling 
 of gamcare clients
a betting
b fobts
c fruit machines
d remote gambling
e casinos
f other
chart shows the prime mode of
gambling cited by gamcare’s
clients contrary to popular 
belief casinos account for a
disproportionately low level of
problem gambling in great britain
 includes scratch cards poker and bingo
source gamcare care services report 2006
directors’ report business review strategy and 
operational 
performance
bingo
casinos
interactive
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 15 – no stated changes to gambling policy
– hostility to gambling reform in certain 
quarters of the national media
– group focus on customer value
– pace of supply growth in casinos much 
slower than expected 
– at least 40 of rank’s uk casinos face no
new competition under current legislation
– no signiﬁcant increases in taxation expected
†
– further increase in national minimum wage
expected in october 2008
16 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
grow customer visits control costs
strategy
develop and market compelling products and
deliver outstanding service
extend reach through retail and interactive
channels
maintain efﬁcient and appropriate cost structure
– development of g casino to access
mainstream leisure market
– continued growth in casino and 
interactive customers
– uk bingo and casino businesses affected by
smoking ban and consumer slowdown
– focus on rewarding loyal customers and
engaging with new customers
– closure of 11 bingo clubs and one casino 
in 2007
– market share gains in uk bingo despite 
club closures
– four major casino developments completed
– plans to open ﬁve new casinos by 2012
– blue square international development 
in 2008
– signiﬁcant cost reduction in operations
– increase in lease costs
– structural increase in casino 
gaming duty
– more efﬁcient marketing expenditure
targeted in 2008
risks
1 regressive changes to gambling regulations
2 further deterioration in consumer spending 
1 increased competition from new 
casino openings
2 increased competition from inhome leisure
1 further increases in taxation 
2 increases in operating costs 
particularly labour
key performance indicators kpis
objectives
admissions
235m
2006 247m
active customers
25m
2006 25m
market share
uk bingo
288
2006 287
uk casino
27 7
2006 304
operating margin
128
2006 133
sales to marketing
ratio
121
2006 151
our strategy is to develop betting and gaming experiences geared to different
segments of the adult population distributing them through a variety of leisure retail
and interactive channels
†
the group believes that it will not be affected signiﬁcantly by any taxation increases in the governments budget on 12 march 2008
 retail businesses only like for like clubs
business footprint retail
147 units
bingo clubs and casinos 2006 159 units
directors’ report business review
commentary
risk assessment the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 17
bingo
mecca bingo
our uk bingo clubs business mecca bingo experienced a mixed year
an encouraging ﬁrst half was overshadowed by a difﬁcult second half
as the business started to feel the effects of the smoking ban the loss 
of section 21 gaming terminals and a deterioration in consumer
conﬁdence these difﬁculties were common across the broader bingo
club sector and despite the closure of 11 clubs in the year mecca
bingo’s share of the market increased marginally from 287 to 288
during 2007 revenue from mecca bingo declined by 81 against the
previous year to £2405m partly as a result of the closure of 11 clubs
operating proﬁt was down 314 to £436m although this was due in 
part to £49m of additional lease costs resulting from the 2006 sale and
leaseback transaction
on a like for like basis revenue in mecca bingo declined by 43 with
admissions down 64 and spend per head up 23 active membership 
of more than 999000 was 82 lower than in 2006 
during the ﬁrst six months of the year mecca bingo grew like for like
revenue by 16 and delivered underlying growth in operating proﬁt
excluding the higher lease costs in the second half like for like revenue
declined by 120 while operating proﬁt was down 622 
the group had expected that the smoking ban and the loss of section 21
gaming terminals as required by the gambling act from 1 september 2007
would have a negative effect on revenue and operating proﬁt in the second
half of the year however the combination of these events with a discernible
weakening in consumer conﬁdence caused trading during the ﬁnal four
months of the year to prove more difﬁcult than we had anticipated
during the 17week period between the start of september 2007 and the end
of the year like for like revenue declined by 173 with admissions down by
150 and spend per head down by 28 in england and wales like for like
revenue declined by 199 whereas in scotland where the smoking ban was
introduced in march 2006 revenue fell by 19
in preparation for the difﬁcult trading conditions in the second half of the
year we conducted a major review of our portfolio which resulted in the
closure of 11 clubs ten in the ﬁrst half and one in the second half in
february 2008 we opened our ﬁrst new bingo club for 17 months at
thanet in kent we will continue to keep our portfolio under review but 
in the light of current trading volatility we do not consider it prudent to
commit to any further club openings or closures
2007 2006 change 
£m £m 
mainstage bingo 432 432 01
interval games 1064 1204 116
gaming machines 671 728 78
food and drinkother 238 253 59
total 2405 2617 81
performance
revenue operating proﬁt
2007 2006 2007 2006
restated
£m £m £m £m
mecca bingo 2405 2617 436 636
 before exceptional items
operating review
h1 2004
h2 2004
h1 2005
h2 2005
h1 2006
h2 2006
h1 2007
h2 2007
134 131 134 134 133
108
130 128
revenue performance £m
h1 2004
fy 2004
h1 2005
fy 2005
h1 2006
fy 2006
h1 2007
fy 2007
121 120
117 117
103 102
117
113
clubs operating
kpis and key statistics
2007 2006 
admissions 000s 16809 17964
spend per head £ 1376 1345
active membership 000s 999 1088
market share  288 287
capital expenditure £m 198 163
operating margin  181 243
 excludes new club openings closures and relocations
market drivers
smoking ban introduced in wales
and england
gambling act 2005 fully implemented 
slowdown in consumer spending 
highlights
three bingo millionaires created 
£210m paid out in mainstage bingo prizes  18 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
top rank españa
mainstage bingo
despite the closure of 11 clubs and the decline in admissions we held 
yearonyear revenue from mainstage bingo steady at £432m with a slight
increase during the second half this was largely as a consequence of our
deployment of electronic bingo terminals which allowed customers to play
a higher number of bingo tickets per game spend per head on mainstage
bingo increased by 125 against 2006 
interval games
revenue from ‘cashline’ interval games declined by 116 to £1064m as a
result of club closures lower comparable clubs admissions and the disruptive
effect of the smoking ban spend per head on cashline was down by 08
against 2006 the development of cashline positions in outside smoking
enclosures will help to protect interval game revenue in 2008
gaming machines
revenue from gaming machines of £671m was down 78 against 2006
with club closures lower comparable clubs admissions the smoking ban
and the loss of section 21 gaming terminals causing a decline during the
second half of the year the requirement to remove or adapt nearly 1000
section 21 terminals by 1 september 2007 upon the introduction of the
gambling act caused signiﬁcant disruption to the business we will be
focusing greater efforts to improve our gaming machine product offer in
2008 through the development of larger and more comfortable arcades
and a more targeted approach to machine deployment 
food and drinkother
revenue from food and drink and other items of £238m was 59 lower
than in 2006 although this was affected by club closures and lower
comparable clubs admissions spend per head increased by 58
performance
revenue operating proﬁt
2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m
top rank españa 323 311 93 89
kpis and key statistics
2007 2006
admissions 000s 2458 2469
spend per head £ 1313 1261
active membership 000s 330 330
capital expenditure £m 45 55
operating margin  288 286
following a difﬁcult 2006 when a partial smoking ban was introduced 
in spain our spanish bingo clubs business top rank españa enjoyed a
limited recovery in 2007 revenue increased by 39 to £323m while
operating proﬁt grew by 45 to £93m
admissions which continue to be affected by the smoking ban declined 
by 04 but spend per head rose by 41 principally as a result of
improvements to our gaming machines and electronic gaming products
active membership of top rank españa’s clubs remained steady at
approximately 330000
operating review continued
directors’ report business review the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 19
casinos
grosvenor casinos
h1 2004
h2 2004
h1 2005
h2 2005
h1 2006
h2 2006
h1 2007
h2 2007
94
107
100
110 110
100
108 108
revenue performance £m
h1 2004
fy 2004
h1 2005
fy 2005
h1 2006
fy 2006
h1 2007
fy 2007
36
38 38 38
35
34
38
35
casinos operating
kpis and key statistics
2007 2006
active membership 000s 803 774
market share  277 304
capital expenditure £m 171 244
operating margin  143 167
market drivers
change in tax regime costs £46m in additional 
casino duty
smoking bans introduced in wales and england 
gambling act fully implemented 
increase in competition in certain local marketplaces
slowdown in consumer spending
highlights
g casinos in luton blackpool and london 
two new casino licences granted 
performance
revenue operating proﬁt
2007 2006 2007 2006
restated
£m £m £m £m
london 880 941 147 147
provincial 1084 1103 143 202
belgium 131 132 09 14
total 2095 2176 299 363
 before exceptional items
following a strong ﬁrst half of the year grosvenor casinos
experienced difﬁcult trading conditions during the second half as the
smoking ban and a slowdown in consumer spending affected revenue
generation operating proﬁt was lower than in 2006 largely as a result
of higher lease costs and a substantial and unbudgeted increase in
casino gaming duty arising from the government’s budget 2007
revenue from grosvenor casinos of £2095m was 37 lower than in 2006
although this was due almost entirely to the sale of the clermont club in
december 2006 and the closures of our manchester hard rock casino and
scarborough grosvenor casino in july 2006 for the same reasons our share
of the british casino market measured as share of overall admissions fell
from 304 to 277
like for like revenue declined by 06 with admissions down 12 and
spend per head up 06
operating proﬁt of £299m was 176 lower than in 2006 stripping 
out the effects of the £46m increase in gaming duty and the £20m 
of additional lease costs resulting from the 2006 sale and leaseback
transaction operating proﬁt grew by 06 active membership of our
casinos increased by 37 to more than 803000 demonstrating the
broadening appeal of casino gaming in great britain
trading in the second half of the year proved more challenging than in the
ﬁrst as our casinos started to feel the effects of the smoking ban the loss of
section 21 gaming terminals and the slowdown in consumer spending new
competitor casinos in london manchester bristol and swansea also had
some effect on the performances of our casinos operating in those markets
admissions spend per head
2007 2006 2007 2006
like for like clubs £m £m £m £m
london 968 997 9092 8621
provinces 3077 3121 3059 3121
uk casinos 4045 4118 4503 4452
belgium 182 162 7212 8127
total casinos 4227 4280 4619 4591
 excludes new club openings closures and relocations
london
in 2007 our london casinos experienced a 65 yearonyear decline in
revenue on a like for like basis excluding the clermont club which was
sold in december 2006 revenue grew by 24 with a 55 rise in spend
per head offsetting a 29 decline in admissions trading conditions in 
the second half of the year were more difﬁcult than in the ﬁrst as the
competitive impact of the new ‘casino at the empire’ on leicester square
owned by us gaming company harrah’s compounded the effects of the
smoking ban during the year we carried out major refurbishments at our
victoria casino and at our g casino on leicester square formerly known 
as the hard rock casino
provinces
in 2007 our provincial casinos experienced a 17 yearonyear decline 
in revenue on a like for like basis excluding two licence relocations two
casinos closed in 2006 and one casino closed in 2007 revenue was down 
by 34 with spend per head 20 lower and admissions down 14 in
december 2007 we closed our lossmaking liverpool grosvenor casino
belgium
our two belgian casinos in the seaside towns of middlekerke and
blankenberge generated revenue of £131m slightly behind the prior year
admissions increased by 123 to more than 182000 but spend per head
was 113 lower than in 2006 20 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
interactive
blue square
our interactive gaming business blue square grew revenue by 329
to £521m in 2007 with operating proﬁt up 397 to £109m active
membership increased by 126 to more than 321000
growth was driven entirely by our gaming products which increased
revenue by 604 to £369m we enjoyed strong performances in bingo
and games principally through meccabingocom but our poker product
lost ground on its performance in 2006 as a result of the requirement to
move from the tribeca to the playtech operating platforms 
our sports betting business had a difﬁcult year with revenue slipping 
62 to £152m 
during 2007 we made progress in growing our business outside the uk 
in november we agreed a ‘white label’ deal with 888 holdings to supply 
the blue square sports betting service to customers of 888’s gaming
websites we expect this to commence in the ﬁrst quarter of 2008 
during the course of the year we invested in the development of
bingouniversalcom our online bingo and gaming business for the
spanish market which is scheduled for launch in the ﬁrst half of this year
the blue square grosvenor uk poker tour which started in 2007 was the
biggest series of poker tournaments ever seen in the uk the tour comprised
a series of 11 tournaments hosted by grosvenor and g casinos across the
country with total player registrations exceeding 3000 these players
competed for total prize money of more than £32m between september
and december 2007 channel 4 television screened the tournaments in a
series of 22 hourlong weekly programmes attracting average weekly
audiences of 205000 viewing ﬁgures for the grand ﬁnal alone of 320000
represents the biggest ever audience for a poker competition held in the uk
in august 2007 blue square launched its sponsorship of the nonleague
football conference rechristened the blue square premier blue square
north and blue square south and of its coverage on setanta sports
television during the period between august and december 2007 
viewing ﬁgures for blue square premier matches reached 118000 
the progress of a number of blue square nonleague football clubs in 
the fa cup has resulted in signiﬁcant exposure for the brand on bbc1 
and sky sports in the current year 
performance
2007 2006
£m £m
gaming revenue 369 230
sportsbook revenue 152 162
total revenue 521 392
operating proﬁt 109 78
h1 2004
h2 2004
h1 2005
h2 2005
h1 2006
h2 2006
h1 2007
h2 2007
13 13
12
19
26 26
13
20
revenue performance £m
h1 2004
fy 2004
h1 2005
fy 2005
h1 2006
fy 2006
h1 2007
fy 2007
198 195
224
261
320 321
232
285
active membership 000s
kpis and key statistics
2007 2006
active customers 000s 321 285
capital expenditure £m 45 28
operating margin  209 199
market drivers
strong growth in broadband penetration in the uk
growth in games products sports betting 
market maturing
highlights
sports betting agreement with 888com 
targeted calendar of sponsorship events 
distribution agreement with virgin media 
operating review continued
directors’ report business review finance 
review
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 21 22 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
the past year has been exceptionally 
busy with the disposal of hard rock 
the arrangement of new banking facilities
disposal of the deﬁned beneﬁt pension
plan and the delivery of signiﬁcant cost
savings across the group
finance review
the proceeds from the disposal of hard rock in march 2007 net of 
the accompanying payment of a special dividend in april 2007
adjusted group proﬁt before tax and exceptionals was £60m higher 
than last year
the effective tax rate on adjusted proﬁts is 309 2006 333 the tax
charge is in line with the continuing group’s anticipated effective tax rate
of 30 to 35
adjusted earnings per share of 74p 2006 46p reﬂects the higher adjusted
pretax proﬁt the lower effective tax rate and the decrease in the average
number of shares in issue the number of shares has reduced as a result of
the returns made to shareholders through the share buyback programme 
in 2006 and the share consolidation that accompanied the special dividend
in 2007 
group revenue from continuing operations fell by £152m driven by
the reductions in mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos partially offset
by the increase at our online business blue square as noted on pages
17 to 20 revenue was impacted by the closure of a number of bingo
clubs and casinos in both 2007 and 2006 as well as the effects of the
smoking bans in the uk and spain and the removal of section 21
gaming machines
group operating proﬁt before exceptional items was £49m lower than in
2006 proﬁts from our operating businesses were impacted by £46m in
additional casino duty and £69m in additional lease costs arising from the
2006 sale and leaseback transaction we reduced shared service costs and
central costs by an aggregate £180m although the 2006 ﬁgures included
£89m of nonrecurring costs 
the net interest charge was £109m lower than in 2006 which reﬂects
lower average net debt following the sale and leaseback in 2006 and 
results
peter gill finance director
revenue operating proﬁt
before exceptionals after exceptionals
2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006
restated restated
£m £m £m £m £m £m
continuing operations 5344 5496 683 732 231 1269
interest net 221 330 221 477
adjusted proﬁt before taxation
1
462 402 10 792
amortisation of equity component of convertible bond 36 30 36 30
unwinding of discount in disposal provisions 13 – 13 –
net return on deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset 105 67 105 67
other ﬁnancial gains 05 100 05 100
proﬁt before taxation 523 539 71 929
basic earnings loss per share – continuing operations 73p 84p 12p 195p
adjusted earnings per share note 10 74p 46p
1 
adjusted proﬁt before tax is group operating proﬁt less ﬁnance costs and income
the group has restated its ﬁnancial results for 2006 to reﬂect changes in accounting policy relating to exceptional items and the net return on the deﬁned beneﬁt asset a restatement 
of group full year proﬁts for 2006 is contained in note 39 to the ﬁnancial statements
directors’ report business review the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 23
in 2007 the group paid a ﬁnal dividend in respect of 2006 of 40p per
ordinary share an interim dividend of 20p per ordinary share in respect of
2007 and a special dividend of 650p following the disposal of hard rock
the special dividend was accompanied by an 18 for 25 share consolidation 
given the difﬁcult trading conditions currently being experienced the level
of uncertainty facing the gaming industry and the more general market
concerns of a consumer spending slowdown as we move into 2008 the
board announced in december that it would not pay a ﬁnal dividend 
for 2007 the board intends to resume dividend payments once trading
conditions and the market outlook have improved our mediumterm
dividend cover target remains 20 times earnings
exceptional items
in order to give a full understanding of the group’s ﬁnancial performance and
aid comparability between periods the group has changed its accounting
policy on exceptional items as detailed in note 1a to the ﬁnancial statements
the group has carried out an impairment review of each casino and 
bingo club in accordance with ias 36 this requires a comparison of the
discounted future cash ﬂows for each club to its carrying value the impact
of the smoking ban removal of section 21 machines increased casino
competition and the unexpected increase in casino duty have all had a
material negative impact on the group 
the review has resulted in impairments of £257m in mecca bingo and
£82m in grosvenor casinos and full details are included in note 13 to the
ﬁnancial statements in addition we have created further onerous lease
provisions of £191m in mecca bingo where the future cashﬂows are
expected to be insufﬁcient to cover the future lease obligations grosvenor
casinos closed its lossmaking liverpool casino in december 2007 
incurring a small writeoff of ﬁxed assets and the creation of a £17m
onerous lease provision these leases have an unexpired life of between 
ten years and 57 years further details on lease obligations are provided in
note 35 to the ﬁnancial statements
the group has a limited number of onerous leases at sites no longer used 
by the operating businesses the provision on these sites has been increased
by £69m as a result of lower sublet income and increased running costs
in the year rank closed 11 mecca bingo clubs and sold six of the freehold
sites for an aggregate consideration of £231m the proﬁt on disposal of the
clubs net of closure costs for the remaining clubs and grosvenor liverpool
totalled £164m
discontinued operations
discontinued operations in 2007 comprise the results of hard rock and
additionally in 2006 deluxe media deluxe film and us holidays the
group completed the sale of hard rock on 5 march 2007 resulting in an
exceptional proﬁt of £3527m before related ﬁnancing and taxation costs 
of £373m the results revenues and costs are shown in a single line on a
posttax basis in the income statement further details are provided in note 
7 to the ﬁnancial statements
cash ﬂow and net debt
2007 2006
£m £m
continuing oper ations
cash inﬂow from operations 1018 1073
capital expenditure 473 502
fixed asset disposals 294 101
operating cash inﬂow 839 672
acquisitions and disposals 4958 6299
payment in respect of provisions 158 370
and exceptional costs
5639 6601
interest tax and dividend payments 573 1362
special dividend  share buyback 3525 2014
additional contribution to pension fund 196 500
other including foreign exchange translation 25 340
discontinued operations 17 143
decrease in net debt 1303 2922
opening net debt 4472 7394
closing net debt 3169 4472
at the end of december 2007 net bank debt was £3169m compared with
£4472m at the end of december 2006 the net debt comprised bank debt
of £1500m £1639m in convertible unsecured loan stock £570m in ﬁxed
rate yankee bonds £146m in ﬁnance leases and £35m in overdrafts
partially offset by cash at bank and in hand of £721m
financial structure and liquidity
the group’s bank borrowings are available under a £250m revolver loan 
and a £150m term loan both of which were put in place in april 2007 and
which mature in 2012 these syndicated loans require the maintenance of
minimum ratios of earnings before interest tax depreciation and
amortisation to both net interest payable and net debt which are tested 
biannually at june and december further details on the group’s borrowing
are provided in notes 20 and 21 to the ﬁnancial statements
in addition the group has uncommitted borrowing facilities of £40m which
are available for general use
in january 2008 the group repaid the 100m 6375 yankee bonds out of
existing facilities
in january 2009 the £1677m 3875 convertible unsecured loan stock falls
due the group currently plans to repay the bond by drawing on existing
bank borrowings without recourse to the capital markets 24 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
capital expenditure
2007 2006
£m £m
mecca bingo 198 163
top rank españa 45 55
grosvenor casinos 171 244
blue square 45 28
other 14 12
tot al 473 502
capital expenditure for mecca bingo included £27m on the development
of our latest bingo club in thanet opened in february 2008 and £22m 
on various works connected with the introduction of the smoking ban
including the construction of a number of external shelters the balance 
of the expenditure was on club refurbishments and minor capital works
in grosvenor casinos we spent a total of £92m on g casino relocations 
and rebranding with £35m on the extension and rebranding of blackpool
as a g casino £11m on the relocation of the luton casino which opened
in february 2007 and £46m on the new g casino in thanet opened in
february 2008 which is a relocation of our ramsgate licence in addition
we spent £21m on the refurbishment of the victoria casino in london
including an expanded poker room
the increased expenditure in blue square included expansionary capital 
for the new deals with virgin media and 888 holdings as well as the
development of our new spanish bingo website
in light of the current trading conditions the group has decided to defer a
number of major capital projects we now expect 2008 capital expenditure
to be in the order of £20m although this will be kept under review the new
g casino in aberdeen opening 2008 is unaffected by this change
pension fund
during the course of the year we made payments totalling £196m to the
plan in accordance with an agreement with the group’s pension plan
trustee this included £46m that under section 75 of the pensions act 
was required following the sales of hard rock and deluxe media 
the group has decided to close the plan for future service accrual and
following consultation with our employees’ contributions ceased in february
2008 although employees beneﬁts have been augmented to 30 june 2008
employees affected have been offered a replacement stakeholder scheme or
a salary supplement
as detailed in the chief executive’s review we have agreed to transfer the
assets and liabilities of the group’s deﬁned beneﬁt pension plan to rothesay
life subject to tax clearance upon completion an exceptional charge will 
be recognised in 2008
further detail on the pension commitments is contained in note 34 to the
ﬁnancial statements
financial risk
the group’s overall risk management strategy focuses on the minimisation
of risks for the group the group’s funding exchange rate liquidity and
interest rate risks are managed by the group’s treasury department in
accordance with treasury policies and are subject to regular internal audit
review all signiﬁcant ﬁnancing transactions and treasury policies are
authorised by the board of directors implementation of these policies is
closely managed by the ﬁnance director and the director of tax treasury 
and pensions the treasury function is not run as a proﬁt centre
the key ﬁnancial risks impacting the group are liquidity risk interest rate risk
and credit risk the group has limited exposure to foreign currency and this
is not considered a key risk
liquidity risk
liquidity risk is the risk that cash may not be available to pay obligations
when they fall due regular cash ﬂow forecasts are prepared that identify 
the requirements of the group and these are regularly updated to ensure
sufﬁcient ﬁnancial headroom exists for at least 12 months this is coupled
with a regular review of the mediumterm funding requirements which in
particular are updated alongside the group’s strategic plan process the
group has recently negotiated new longterm facilities as noted above
which mitigate the liquidity risk it may face
interest rate risk
the group’s operating cash ﬂows are independent of changes in interest
rates the group primarily ﬁnances itself through syndicated bank facilities
and the public debt market the bank facilities are multicurrency although
borrowings are typically drawn in sterling at ﬂoating interest rates the
group’s public debt is a combination of sterling and us dollar borrowings
with the majority swapped into sterling the group uses interest rate swaps
caps and collars to manage its exposure to interest rate ﬂuctuations
credit risk
credit risk is the risk that a counterparty may not be able to settle amounts
owing in full when due surplus cash is invested in shortterm ﬁnancial
instruments using a limited number of ﬁnancial institutions with secure 
credit ratings counterparty credit ratings are reviewed regularly and
signiﬁcant concentration of risk with any one counterparty is avoided
the group’s policies in relation to ﬁnancial risk are set out in notes 1g and
21 of the ﬁnancial statements
going concern
in adopting the going concern basis for preparing the ﬁnancial statements
the directors have considered the issues impacting the group during 2007
as detailed in the business review on pages 4 to 20 and have reviewed the
group’s projected compliance with its banking covenants detailed above
based on the group’s cash ﬂow forecasts and operating budgets which take
into account management’s actions on capital expenditure cost control and
the suspension of the dividend and assuming that trading continues broadly
in line with current levels the directors believe that the group will generate
sufﬁcient cash to meet its borrowing requirements for at least the next 12
months and comply with its banking covenants 
finance review continued
directors’ report business review the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 25
overview
rank made a signiﬁcant contribution to the uk economy in 2007
through tax and employment as well as beneﬁting the economies of
spain belgium and alderney through businesses based or operating 
in those territories
the uk is the principal tax jurisdiction for rank with 84 of the group’s
revenue in 2007 generated by businesses in england scotland and wales
the group’s businesses generated £1664m for exchequer and local
government in vat  gambling duties income tax national insurance
contributions and local business rates the broader impact of rank’s
operations including taxes paid by supplier companies and the economic
consequences of providing employment to more than 8000 people is
harder to quantify but perhaps no less signiﬁcant
in 2007 the amount of vat and gambling duties generated by mecca bingo
and grosvenor casinos was 16 higher than in 2006 while aggregate
revenue from the two businesses excluding the two belgian casinos had
fallen by 61
tax contribution
tax generated
gambling taxes
rates
employment taxes
vat
392
£m
133
606
533
the table below sets out the different types of taxation that apply to each
sector in which rank operates and highlights the inequitable treatment of
bingo which is the only form of gambling in the uk to bear the system of
‘double taxation’ where revenue is subject to both vat and gross proﬁts tax
casino gaming duty
on 1 april 2007 a signiﬁcant increase in the taxation of table games in
british casinos was introduced the sliding scale that determines casino
gaming duty cgd payments was radically restructured with the removal
of the lowest two bands of cgd and the introduction of a new 50
marginal rate this change which was announced without adequate
notiﬁcation or prior consultation resulted in a 226 increase in cgd
annualised for rank for some smaller casinos the rate of cgd increased
by as much as 500 
tax jurisdictions of rank’s businesses at 31 december 2007
business tax jurisdiction
mecca bingo uk
top rank españa spain 
grosvenor casinos uk and belgium
blue square alderney channel islands
gaming duty vat amld annual
bingo
mainstage bingo 15 175 –
interval bingo 15 175 –
category b3 gaming machines – 175 £1965
category c gaming machines – 175 £735
casino
casino games 15 to 50 – –
poker player to player – 175 –
category b1 gaming machines – 175 £2500
category c gaming machines – 175 £735
interactive
sports betting 15 – –
gaming casino bingo poker 15 – –
 rank’s interactive business is based offshore alderney channel islands and is not subject
to this taxation
changes to casino gaming duty – april 2007 
bands bands
duty rate april 2007 march 2007
25 £0 £546500
125 £0 £1212500
15 £1836500 na
20 £1266000 £1212500
30 £2217500 £2124000
40 £4680000 remainder
50 remainder na
source hmrc
peter gill
finance director
28 february 2008 26 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
the need to operate with consideration for the wellbeing of all of our customers 
and employees is at the heart of rank’s approach to business 
operating responsibly
responsible gaming
“the rank group has demonstrated that it takes seriously its responsibilities
as a gambling operator both grosvenor casinos and blue square have
developed strong operating procedures which is why they carry the
gamcare accreditation”
geoffrey godbold chief executive gamcare
our aim is to provide enjoyment for all of our customers and our belief is
that gambling should be a positive leisure experience at the same time 
we recognise that for a small minority of people gambling can become an
addictive behaviour which can lead to a range of problems for individuals
and their families
our philosophy across all of our businesses and in each of the territories 
in which we operate is based upon the three guiding principles of the
gambling act
– to prevent gambling being a source of crime or disorder being 
associated with crime or disorder or being used to support crime
– to ensure that gambling is conducted in a fair and open way
– to protect children and other vulnerable persons from being harmed 
or exploited by gambling 
in support of these objectives we undertook a number of major initiatives 
in 2007
gamcare accreditation
we have achieved gamcare accreditation for grosvenor casinos and blue
square this involved the facilitation of 11 visits by gamcare to our casinos
in 2007
responsibility in gambling trust
in 2007 we committed £220000 to the responsibility in gambling trust
rigt which in turn funds a range of problem gambling counselling and
education services all advertising by rank’s uk businesses carries the address 
of rigt’s gambleawarecouk website
working with the gambling commission
in 2007 the rank group continued to work closely with our regulatory
body the gambling commission rank was the ﬁrst group to undergo 
a complete risk assessment by the gambling commission
our people
as a group operating in one of the most tightly regulated areas of the leisure
retail market our ability to recruit and retain high calibre employees is
fundamental to our success
it is not simply that our people have a direct inﬂuence on the way that our
customers feel when they are engaged with our businesses the integrity and
expertise of our people is the basis of our right to operate across the group
we employ more than 8000 people in a wide variety of roles from croupiers
to callers to chefs of these more than 2000 are licensed by the gambling
commission of great britain
in 2007 we made signiﬁcant progress in reducing employee turnover as the
table below shows across the group employee turnover fell from 48 in
2006 to 39 in 2007 while we continue to strive for improvement we
recognise that this performance is signiﬁcantly better than many businesses
operating in the leisure markets the fact that we have achieved a reduction
in employee turnover in what has been a difﬁcult trading environment for
our retail business is testament to the motivation and spirit of our people
employee turnover 
2007 2006
mecca bingo 41 54
top rank españa 49 51
grosvenor casinos 37 40
blue square 28 34
during 2007 more than 5000 of our people participated in our responsible
gaming training programme employees from our casinos and bingo clubs
are trained to identify and report signs of problem gambling in customers 
our managers are also trained in how to interact with the small minority 
of customers who encounter gambling problems providing a link to
counselling services provided by organisations such as gamcare
the rank group is a supporter of the
responsibility in gambling trust and gamcare
in 2007 the rank group was
awarded the british safety
council’s prestigious 5 star
award of excellence for its health
and safety policies procedures
and control documentation
directors’ report business review the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 27
community
in 2007 mecca bingo raised £139742 for its chosen charity breakthrough
breast cancer through a variety of community activities involving employees
and customers fundraising highlights included
– the general managers of mecca bingo in hackney road and eltham hill
both in london raised £39000 by visiting every mecca bingo club in
the uk
– members from mecca bingo in wednesbury in the west midlands
climbed mount snowdon to raise £1000 
– two team members from mecca bingo in stevenage cycled from
stevenage to gloucester raising almost £2000
in addition mecca bingo in hyde road manchester launched an appeal 
to raise £30000 for a new children’s hospital for the city 
in 2008 mecca bingo is supporting whizzkidz as its ofﬁcial charity
whizzkidz provides customised mobility equipment wheelchair training
advice and life skills to disabled children a team from mecca bingo is 
hoping to raise £15000 for the charity by participating in the 2008 
london marathon
grosvenor casinos raised money for a variety of charities during 2007
including the british heart foundation and breakthrough breast cancer
fundraising highlights included
– the city poker classic a charity poker tournament for investment banks
and fund management ﬁrms at the victoria casino raised £1000 for
breakthrough breast cancer
– a team from the grosvenor gunwharf casino in portsmouth cycled 
32 miles to raise £800 for the british heart foundation
blue square generated more than £20000 for a variety of charities through
the grosvenor uk poker tour including £2000 for manchester breast
cancer charity the blossom appeal 
environment
at rank we take responsibility for the effect of our operations on the earth’s
natural resources and its climate 
in 2007 rank established an environmental committee chaired by rank’s
chief executive ian burke the committee is charged with the scrutiny of 
the group’s environmental issues and is required to formulate and monitor
‘green’ policies in each of our businesses 
in total rank committed £1m to environmental projects during 2007 
the focus of the group’s environmental activities has been the reduction 
of energy consumption and waste generation key achievements in the 
year included
– equipment installed to optimise electrical supplies to 17 sites
– equipment installed to reduce energy consumption on heating and
ventilation systems at 23 sites
– the appointment of a new waste management and recycling agency to
identify and maximise recycling opportunities within the company’s sites 
in 2008 the group is looking at a number of ways in which we can use our
broad customer reach to promote energy efﬁciency in the communities
where we operate 
mecca bingo supports whizzkidz which provides 
mobility equipment and training for disabled children
a ﬂeet of mountain bikes has been supplied to the
new g casino in thanet to encourage employees
to cycle to work rather than drive the general
manager of the casino peter donnelly was one 
of the ﬁrst to take to two wheels 28 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
name bill shannon
title nonexecutive director
appointment april 2006
age 58
committees audit nominations
remuneration
skills and experience formerly executive
director of whitbread plc chairman of the
gaucho grill restaurant group and a non
executive director of matalan plc
external appointments currently chairman 
of aegon uk plc and the grill group also a 
nonexecutive director of barratt developments
plc and an operating partner at triartisan
partners a private equity house
name richard greenhalgh 
title senior independent nonexecutive
director
appointment july 2004
age 63
committees nominations remuneration
skills and experience formerly chairman 
of unilever uk from 1998 until 2004
external appointments currently chairman of
the council for industry and higher education
care international uk first milk and chairman
of the uk advisory board of a us listed
outsourcing company opi vice chairman of
the qualiﬁcations and curriculum authority
name john warren
title nonexecutive director
appointment january 2006
age 54
committees audit nominations
remuneration
skills and experience formerly group ﬁnance
director of wh smith plc and united biscuits
plc and a nonexecutive director of rac plc 
and rexam plc
external appointments currently holds 
nonexecutive directorships at bovis homes
group plc bpp holdings plc spectris plc and
uniq plc
board of directors
name ian burke
title chief executive
appointment march 2006
age 51
committees finance nominations 
skills and experience formerly chief executive
of holmes place health and fitness limited
chief executive of thistle hotels plc and
managing director of gala clubs the bingo
operator currently a director of business in
sport and leisure limited
name peter johnson 
title chairman
appointment january 2007
age 60
committees finance nominations
skills and experience chairman of inchcape
plc having been group chief executive 
from 1999 until 2005 previously sales and
marketing director of the rover group chief
executive of the marshall group and non
executive director of wates group limited
external appointments currently chairman of
inchcape plc nonexecutive director of bunzl
plc and vice president of the institute of the
motor industry
name peter gill
title finance director
appointment july 2005
age 52
committees finance 
skills and experience formerly group ﬁnance
director of xansa plc and the chief ﬁnancial
ofﬁcer of penguin group the consumer 
book division of pearson plc peter is a 
chartered accountant
directors’ report governance the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 29
rank’s executive committee assists the chief executive 
in directing and promoting the proﬁtable operation 
and development of the group
executive committee board committees
name ian burke
title chief executive
skills and experience see opposite
name peter gill
title finance director
skills and experience see opposite
name pamela coles
title company secretary
age 46
skills and experience joined rank as company
secretary in november 2005 she was formerly
company secretary of rac plc
name alan armstrong
title compliance and development director
age 53
skills and experience appointed compliance and
development director in 1996 having previously
held positions in training audit and compliance
licensing security health and safety property
and development legal and insurance and
public affairs 
name julian barker
title director of strategy
age 36
skills and experience julian joined rank in
february 2008 as director of strategy previous
roles include director of strategy at orange and
director of strategy and planning at wanadoo
name sue waldock
title human resources director
age 55
skills and experience appointed group human
resources director in 2006 previously she held
the position of human resources director for
rank group gaming she is a fellow of the
chartered institute of personnel development
and chairman of the employment group for
business in sport and leisure limited
name martin belsham
title managing director blue square
age 47
skills and experience joined rank in 2003 when
the group acquired blue square the business
that he had founded four years earlier previously
martin was managing director of city index and
a director of icap 
name valentin coruna
title managing director top rank españa
age 54
skills and experience joined rank to set up top
rank españa in 1994 previous positions in the
spanish gaming industry include director of new
business with cirsa 
name peter mccann
title managing director grosvenor casinos
age 55
skills and experience joined rank in 1980
worked in the uk gaming industry for more
than 30 years holding a variety of positions
within the bingo clubs and casinos sectors in
april 2006 he was appointed managing director
of grosvenor casinos
name simon wykes
title managing director mecca bingo
age 40
skills and experience appointed managing
director of mecca bingo in april 2006 previously
he held the positions of operations director and
regional director for mecca bingo simon has
also worked for leisure parcs gala group in
bingo clubs and casinos and first leisure
 brendan o’neill served as a nonexecutive director throughout the year and retired from the board on 31 december 2007
audit committee
chairman john warren
members brendan o’neill  bill shannon
responsibilities the audit committee assists the
board in reviewing the effectiveness of internal
control systems the committee also reviews
ﬁnancial statements to be published externally
before their submission to the board in order to
ensure that they present a fair assessment of the
group’s position and prospects it also authorises
any change in accounting policies 
finance committee
chairman peter johnson
members ian burke peter gill
responsibilities the finance committee is an
executive committee to which certain speciﬁc
authorities have been delegated by the board
principally in respect to capital expenditure
authorisation and the ﬁnancing of the group 
nominations committee
chairman peter johnson
members ian burke richard greenhalgh
brendan o’neill  bill shannon john warren
responsibilities the nominations committee 
is responsible for identifying and nominating 
for the approval of the board all new board
appointments the board believes that it is helpful
for the chairman and the chief executive to be
formally involved in this process and thus both of
them are members of the committee 
as are all of the nonexecutive directors 
remuneration committee
chairman richard greenhalgh
members bill shannon john warren
responsibilities the remuneration committee is
responsible for determining the remuneration
arrangements for the chairman the executive
directors and other members of the executive
committee 
details of board committee meetings can be
found in the corporate governance report on
page 36 remuneration report
this report details the rank group plc’s the company executive
remuneration policy and includes information on the remuneration 
of the directors for the ﬁnancial year ended 31 december 2007
remuneration committee 
whilst it is the board’s responsibility to determine the structure and cost of
executive remuneration it must take account of the recommendations of
the remuneration committee the setting of the remuneration beneﬁts
and employment packages for the chairman executive directors and other
senior executives has been delegated by the board to the remuneration
committee the formal terms of reference of the committee are available
on written request to the company secretary
the members of the remuneration committee are all independent non
executive directors richard greenhalgh has been a member of the
committee since july 2004 and became chairman of the committee in 
april 2006 he is supported by bill shannon and john warren both of
whom joined the committee in april 2006 details of committee meeting
attendances are included in the corporate governance report on page 36
meetings of the remuneration committee are generally attended by the
group’s chairman chief executive and company secretary but they are 
not present at any discussion regarding their own remuneration in 2006
watson wyatt was appointed by the committee to provide guidance 
on remuneration matters and sharebased incentive programmes for
executives they did not provide any other services to the group during
2007 the group’s company secretariat and human resources department
have supported the committee by preparing reports on remuneration and
employment conditions within the group internal assistance is provided 
by pamela coles the company secretary
remuneration policy 
executive directors 
the committee aims to ensure that remuneration and incentive
arrangements are congruent with shareholder interests and aligned 
with market practice for organisations of comparable size and with rank’s
main competitors it is the committee’s view that performancerelated pay
should form a signiﬁcant element of the remuneration package and that
this together with shareholding guidelines for the executive team is the
optimum method to encourage and reward executives to achieve the
group’s strategic objectives the committee reviews the structure and size
of awards regularly to ensure these objectives are met the shareholding
guideline for the chief executive is 150 of base salary 100 for the
ﬁnance director and 50 for other members of the executive committee
executives are expected to build up the required level of holding over a ﬁve
year period
nonexecutive directors 
the chairman and nonexecutive directors are remunerated by way of fees
only and are not included in bonus share pension or long term incentive
plans of the company fees for nonexecutives are set by the chairman 
and executive directors the remuneration committee determines the
chairman’s fee the chairman also receives a travel expense allowance 
nonexecutive directors’ fees recognise the time commitment and
responsibility levels of the speciﬁc roles performed thirty per cent of non
executive directors’ after tax fees are used on a quarterly basis to purchase
ordinary shares in the company the shares must be kept throughout
service the chairman and nonexecutive directors’ fees for 2007 and base
fees with effect from 1 january 2008 including any part used to purchase
shares are shown in the directors’ remuneration summary on page 33
remuneration structure 
a base salary and beneﬁts 
base salaries are broadly in line with the market median level the
committee uses comparator group data supplied by independent
remuneration consultants to maintain the appropriate alignment the
committee’s decisions on individual base salaries take into account market
data personal performance company performance and base salary
increases awarded elsewhere in the group
long term disability and health insurance life assurance and a car or car
allowance are offered in line with standard market practice 
as part of a number of actions agreed in autumn 2007 to address the
trading deterioration in mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos all january
2008 pay reviews with the exception of blue square and top rank españa
have been deferred this deferral includes the chief executive executive
directors and all other members of the executive committee the decision
will be kept under review during the course of 2008 but if as a result of a
signiﬁcant and sustained improvement in trading performance a delayed
review is implemented it will not be backdated to 1 january 2008 
b annual cash bonus
the annual bonus arrangement for executive directors is designed to
incentivise and reward the achievement of strategic objectives measured 
by speciﬁc ﬁnancial target performance the chief executive has a target
annual bonus of 50 of base salary whilst the ﬁnance director has a target
bonus of 40 of base salary the maximum bonus for the chief executive 
is 100 of base salary and 80 for the ﬁnance director and requires
achievement signiﬁcantly ahead of all targets
in 2007 operating proﬁt targets constituted the primary measure 75 of
the available bonus with group cashﬂow the secondary measure 25 of
the available bonus based on these measures and targets the 2007 annual
cash bonus earned for peter gill was 155 and for ian burke 195 the
annual cash bonus payable in respect of 2007 performance is disclosed in
the director’s remuneration summary on page 33 payment of the 2007
annual bonus for ian burke is deferred for a period of 12 months and will
only be paid provided that annual bonus targets for 2008 are met should
no bonus be earned in 2008 the deferred 2007 bonus will not be payable 
the supplemental bonus in the form of restricted shares awarded under
the deferred share bonus plan agreed in 2006 vested on 1 december
2007 for eligible employees remaining in employment with the group at
that date this resulted in an award of shares equivalent to £50281 for ian
burke and £35887 for peter gill the board agreed that the restructuring
targets under the 2007 bonus scheme in place for selected executives only
including peter gill and ian burke have been met given trading difﬁculties
in the second half of 2007 payment of this element of the bonus has
however been deferred 
for 2008 the target and maximum bonus potential for the chief executive
ﬁnance director and nonoperational executive committee members will
remain at 2007 levels and will be based solely on group operating proﬁt
operational executive committee members will have a primary business
speciﬁc proﬁt measure 75 and a secondary group proﬁt measure
25 for 2008 only the bonus arrangement for the director of strategy
will be equally weighted between a ﬁnancial measure group operating
proﬁt and personal objectives bonus potential is the same as that offered
to other executive committee members ie 40 of base salary for
achievement of target and 80 of base salary for maximum performance
c longterm incentives 
the company offers a saveasyouearn saye share option scheme in
which all uk employees may participate savings up to a maximum of £250
per month can be made over either three or ﬁve years at the end of the
period the accumulated savings plus interest can be used to purchase shares
in the company at a price set at a 20 discount to the market value at the
beginning of the savings period in line with normal practice the exercise of
options is not subject to any performance condition 
30 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
directors’ report governance the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 31
executive share option scheme ‘esos’
at the 2007 annual general meeting shareholders agreed the board’s
proposal to suspend grants under the esos with immediate effect as a
consequence no grants were made in 2007 in 2006 executive directors 
and certain senior executives were granted options to purchase shares at a
price ﬁxed at the market value at the date of grant vesting of these grants 
is conditional on a speciﬁed increase in normalised earnings per share ‘eps’
above the uk retail prices index ‘rpi’ over a threeyear performance period
as detailed below 
total exercise price performance condition 
– up to 1 x base salary rpi  3 per annum 
– up to 2 x base salary rpi  5 per annum 
– up to 3 x base salary rpi  7 per annum 
retesting of the performance conditions is not permissible for esos 
awards granted in or after 2005 grants made before 2005 allow for 
the performance period to be extended by one year the remuneration
committee will ensure that eps is measured appropriately over the
performance period by calculating eps for the base period and the end 
of the period on a consistent basis 
saye and esos options are satisﬁed through the issue of new shares and
the committee has regard to institutional guidelines relating to annual 
ﬂowrates whenever share options are granted
the executive directors’ interests in esos and saye are shown in table 2 
on page 33
long term incentive plan ‘ltip’
for 2005 and 2006 ltip awards to executive directors and selected senior
executives vesting of shares is subject to a 2 per annum growth in
normalised eps over a threeyear period and a median relative total
shareholder return ‘tsr’ achievement against a comparator group 
vesting is at 100 for upper quartile performance and 30 for median
with straightline vesting for performance in between there is no vesting
for below median performance 
2006 comparator companies 2005 comparator companies 
de vere baa
enterprise inns boots
intercontinental hotels de vere
london clubs international emi
luminar group holdings home retail group
millennium  copthorne hotels ladbrokes
mitchells  butlers intercontinental hotels
punch taverns itv
stanley leisure kingﬁsher
wetherspoon luminar group holdings 
ladbrokes mothercare 
whitbread mytravel 
william hill next 
pearson
scottish  newcastle
stanley leisure 
dsg international 
wh smith 
whitbread 
where a comparator company delists its tsr as at the delisting date 
is increased in accord with bank base rates for future monitoring
tsr is measured by independent consultants and tracks the change in
ordinary share price over the performance period and the gross value of
dividends assuming immediate reinvestment in shares during that period
to reduce the impact of shortterm tsr volatility daily closing price
averages for shares over the previous three months are used 
the tsr ranking at 31 december 2007 for the 2005 and 2006 awards
were
tsr ranking at 
31 december 2007 vesting 
2005 20th out of 20 nil
2006 14th out of 14 nil
at the 2007 annual general meeting shareholders approved a number 
of amendments to the design and functioning of longterm incentives for
executive directors and speciﬁed senior executives one of the key changes
entailed alterations to the rules of the ltip to permit the remuneration
committee to set appropriate ﬁnancial targets for grants made from 2007 
as a consequence in 2007 the executive directors and other executive
committee members were made an overall award of shares under the
revised ltip of 100 of base salary the grant was split into two equal
components each equivalent to 50 of base salary and subject to eps
performance measures over a threeyear period and a fouryear period in
addition the committee proposes to reference the ftse350 return index
when considering whether it is appropriate for grants to vest or not 
– threeyear performance minimum level eps of 78p per share
2009 eps targets 30 of grant vests 
maximum level eps of 104p per share
or more 100 of grant vests
– fouryear performance minimum level eps of 90p per share
2010 eps targets 30 of grant vests 
maximum level eps of 120p per share
or more 100 of grant vests
for performance between minimum and maximum vesting is on 
a straightline basis 
in setting the performance targets the remuneration committee sought
and took due regard of the views of its major shareholders and institutional
investment bodies such as the association of british insurers abi and
research recommendations and electronic voting rrev remuneration report continued
d pension
the company makes a contribution of 35 of base salary to ian burke
under the group’s selfinvested pension plan ‘sipp’ peter gill receives 
a salary supplement of 30 of salary in lieu of any provision under the
company’s pension arrangements 
following the conclusion of a consultation process the company has
advised members of the rank pension plan which is a deﬁned beneﬁts
scheme that it will cease accrual to the plan the plan has been closed to
new members since april 2000 plan members will be offered a choice of
joining the company’s stakeholder pension plan or alternatively receiving 
a salary supplement in lieu of pension provision this action will not affect
the executive directors as they do not participate in the plan but it will
impact certain members of the executive committee 
service contracts and external directorships
it is company policy that executive director service contract notice periods
should not normally exceed 12 months the company does recognise
however that for external appointments a longer initial notice period may
be appropriate reducing to oneyear or less after an initial period both ian
burke and peter gill now have one year notice periods any compensation
payment made as a result of an executive director leaving the company’s
employment is subject to remuneration committee approval taking
account of the terms of their contract and the reasons for termination
other than as contractually necessary severance payments are usually
limited to payment of unworked contractual notice comprised of base
salary and a cash equivalent value for ﬁxed beneﬁts including pension
contributions in circumstances where a breach of the company’s policies
results in dismissal either a reduced payment or no payment may be made
depending on the situation an executive may have an entitlement or the
remuneration committee may exercise its discretion to allow an exercise 
of outstanding share option awards or longterm incentive grants subject 
to the rules of the relevant plan
as ian burke and peter gill are not members of a deﬁned beneﬁt pension
arrangement there is no issue of abatement for early retirement 
the chairman and nonexecutive directors serve under letters of
appointment which may be terminated without liability for compensation 
the executive directors are allowed to accept one external appointment in a
nonexecutive capacity and to retain any fees received providing always that
there is no conﬂict of interest and the commitment is not excessive neither
ian burke nor peter gill currently hold any nonexecutive directorships
directors’ interests in ordinary shares
the total interests of executive and nonexecutive directors in the issued
share capital of the company are as follows
ordinary ordinary
13 89p shares 10p shares
31 december 2007 1 january 2007
chairman
peter johnson 45000 –
executive directors
ian burke 75553 10000
peter gill 37365 10000
nonexecutive directors 
richard greenhalgh 9938 6653
brendan o’neill 6376 5597
bill shannon 11117 7427
john warren 14564 12762
total 199913 52439
there have been no changes in the interests of executive and nonexecutive
directors since 31 december 2007
in accordance with the companies act 1985 executive directors are
deemed to have an interest in the ordinary shares of the company held 
by the rank group employee beneﬁt trust at 1 january 2007 the trust 
held 202852 ordinary 10p shares at 31 december 2007 and at the 
date of this report 1059826 ordinary 13 89p shares were held in the
employee beneﬁt trust 
the trust holds shares to meet the requirements of awards vesting from 
the ltip  an estimate of awards likely to vest is calculated periodically and
the appropriate number of shares are purchased 
company performance
shown below is the company’s tsr performance compared with the
ftse250 index excluding investment companies for the ﬁve years to
31 december 2007 the committee has selected this index as the
company was a constituent of the ftse250 for the majority of this period
32 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
£0
dec 2002 dec 2003 dec 2004 dec 2005 dec 2006 dec 2007
£50
£100
£150
£200
£250
£300
£350
rank
ftse 250
value of hypothetical £100 holding
directors’ report governance the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 33
table 1 directors’ remuneration summary audited 
the detailed emoluments received by the directors for 2007 are shown below with the annual rate of base pay from 1 january 2008 
expense
allowances sipp annual rate
committee including dc pension
total emoluments
of basic
base salary chairman’s car annual salary total total pay from
base fees fees beneﬁts allowance bonus supplement 2007 2006 010108
£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
chairman 
alun cathcart
1
32–– 2–– 34 205 –
peter johnson
2
150–– 10–– 160 – 150
executive directors 
ian burke
3
525 – 17 19 102 184 847 850 525
peter gill 375 – 13 19 58 112 577 677 375
nonexecutive directors 
richard greenhalgh 38 10–––– 48 46 38
brendan o’neill
4
38––––– 38 38 –
bill shannon 38––––– 38 29 38
john warren 38 8–––– 46 44 38
total 1234183050160296 1788 1889 1164
notes 
1 alun cathcart resigned on 28 february 2007
2 peter johnson was appointed on 1 january 2007
3 payment of the 2007 annual bonus for ian burke is deferred for a period of 12 months and will only be paid provided that annual bonus targets for 2008 are met
4 brendan o’neill resigned on 31 december 2007 
the board agreed that the restructuring targets under the 2007 bonus scheme in place for selected executives only including peter gill and ian burke have been met
payment of this element of the bonus has however been deferred
david boden a former executive director received £20000 under a consultancy arrangement 2006 – £60000 
the widow of john garrett a former executive director received £32667 2006 £32453 in respect of an unfunded pension obligation 
table 2 executive directors’ interests in options audited
performance
number number period
number granted lapsed number ending earliest exercise
date exercise at during during at 31 dec exercise period
scheme of grant price p 010107 2007 2007 311207 maximum date end date
ian burke esos 10 mar 06 23758 429328 – – 429328 2008 10 mar 09 09 mar 16
saye 02 oct 06 18700 5053 – 5053 – – 01 dec 09 31 may 10
saye 03 oct 07 13900 – 6906 – 6906 – 01 dec 10 31 may 11
peter gill esos 22 sep 05 30325 230831 – 230831 – lapsed
esos 10 mar 06 23758 101119 – – 101119 2008 10 mar 09 09 mar 16
saye 02 oct 06 18700 8756 – 8756 – – 01 dec 11 31 may 12
saye 03 oct 07 13900 – 12086 – 12086 – 01 dec 12 31 may 13
 failed to meet the performance criteria at 31 december 2007 and therefore lapsed
the market value of an ordinary share was 9125p at 31 december 2007 during the year the highest market value of an ordinary share was 23101p
and the lowest was 7775p no share options were exercised by directors in 2007
the board has suspended normal grants under the esos and future grants will only be made in special cases of recruitment and retention remuneration report continued
table 3 executive directors’ interests in the long term incentive plan and deferred share bonus plan audited
status
number number number performance
market market number awarded vested lapsed number period
date price at price at at during during during at ending
plan of award award p release p 010107 2007 2007 2007 311207 311207
ian burke ltip 10 mar 06 23600 – 216101––– 216101 2008
ltip 15 may 07
1
19550 – – 134271 – – 134271 2009
ltip 15 may 07
1
19550 – – 134271 – – 134271 2010
dsbp
2
10 apr 07 21300 10500 – 47887 47887 – – vested
peter gill ltip 22 sep 05 30375 – 115226 – – 115226
3
– lapsed
ltip 10 mar 06 23600 – 92542––– 92542 2008
ltip 15 may 07
1
19550 – – 95887 – – 95887 2009
ltip 15 may 07
1
19550 – – 95887 – – 95887 2010
dsbp
2
10 apr 07 21300 10500 – 34178 34178 – – vested
1 for the 2007 awards half of the award is subject to a threeyear performance period and half of the award is subject to a fouryear performance period there will be no
retesting of either element of the award
2 deferred share bonus plan 2006
3 failed to meet the performance criteria at 31 december 2007 and therefore lapsed
no variation was made to the terms of any of the ltip awards during the year
on behalf of the board
richard greenhalgh
chairman of the remuneration committee
28 february 2008
34 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
directors’ report governance the policy of the board is to manage the affairs of the company in
accordance with the principles of the combined code 2006 on corporate
governance and annexed to the listing rules of the financial services
authority ‘the code’ this statement explains how the company applies
the principles of the code
board
the directors believe that it is essential that the company should be both
led and controlled by an effective board the board has adopted a formal
statement of its powers duties and responsibilities and recognises that its
main functions are as follows
– agreeing objectives policies and strategies and monitoring the
performance of the executive management
– keeping under review the general progress and longterm development
of the group in light of the political economic and social environments
in which it operates
– controlling and monitoring the ﬁnancial state and performance of 
the group including investment and ﬁnancing plans determining 
the desired ﬁnancial ratios and approving the objectives of the group’s
business plan
– deciding on major changes in organisation and the shape of the group
including entry into new ﬁelds of operation and departure from those
which are no longer appropriate
– approving major expenditure and transactions with other companies
including for example acquisitions disposals joint ventures and
signiﬁcant supply arrangements
– ensuring that the group pursues sound and proper policies in relation to
a safety health and environmental matters and
b corporate governance
– delegating clear responsibility and authority to the chairman 
committees of the board the chief executive directors or groups 
of directors ofﬁcers and others and
– giving approval or support as appropriate to the most senior
appointments in the group and ensuring that adequate career
development succession and remuneration arrangements exist for them
there is a formal schedule of matters reserved for the board’s decision
regular board meetings are held not fewer than eight times in a year 
at least one meeting is devoted to strategy and is held away from the
company’s head ofﬁce ad hoc meetings may be convened in between
regular meetings to address any matters requiring board consideration 
the chairman holds at least one meeting a year with the nonexecutive
directors without the executive directors being present and led by the
senior independent director the nonexecutive directors meet without 
the chairman present at least once a year to appraise his performance
the company has arranged insurance cover in respect of legal action
against its directors to the extent permitted by uk law the company also
indemniﬁes the directors neither the insurance nor the indemnity provides
cover in situations where a director has acted fraudulently or dishonestly
chairman and chief executive
there is a clear division of responsibilities at the head of the company
with the chairman responsible for the effective operation of the board
encouraging the active participation of all directors and the chief
executive responsible for the running of the company’s businesses
the board has approved formal statements describing the role and
remit of both the chairman and the chief executive which emphasise
this division of their responsibilities
the board is mindful of the need to ensure that the chairman has enough
time available to devote to the job peter johnson was chairman from
1 march 2007 succeeding alun cathcart who left the board on 28 february
2007 and the board is satisﬁed that his other signiﬁcant commitments had
no material impact upon the amount of time that he was able to devote to
his chairmanship of the group during the year
board balance and independence
the board includes a balance of executive and independent nonexecutive
directors whose biographical details are given on page 28 richard
greenhalgh has been the senior independent director since may 2006 
the directors have wideranging business experience and no individual 
or group of individuals dominates the board’s decisionmaking process 
the board also considered peter johnson as independent on his
appointment as a director
appointment of the board
the board accepts that there should be a formal rigorous and transparent
procedure for the appointment of new directors the board has formalised
and adopted terms of reference for its nominations committee which are
available on request to the company secretary a report of the nominations
committee’s work during 2007 is given on page 36 the board has agreed
the terms and conditions for the appointment of nonexecutive directors
which are also available for inspection and comply with the code peter gill
and john warren will retire by rotation at the annual general meeting and
being eligible are offering themselves for reappointment peter gill is the
companys ﬁnance director and has a service agreement terminable on one
years notice john warren is chairman of the audit committee and a
member of the nominations and remuneration committees he does not
have a service agreement with the company
information and professional development
the board receives a steady ﬂow of information to enable it to discharge 
its duties including a monthly report detailing current and forecast 
trading results and treasury positions it also receives regular updates 
on shareholders’ views as part of the monthly report and more formal
brieﬁngs on shareholders’ views are given to the board following the
presentation of the company’s interim and annual results board papers 
are generally distributed not less than ﬁve days in advance of the relevant
meeting to allow the directors fully to prepare for meetings and minutes 
of committee meetings are circulated to all directors the board is kept 
fully informed of developments within the company’s businesses through
regular presentations by divisional management induction programmes 
for newlyappointed directors are devised to ensure that directors spend
time with divisional management and can visit operational sites
all directors have access to the advice and services of the company secretary
who is responsible for ensuring that board procedures are followed and to
independent professional advice if required at the company’s expense
performance evaluation
the evaluation process for the performance of the board as a whole 
and that of individual directors was carried out through a questionnaire
process between the chairman and each director this was designed to
provide an objective assessment and covered the areas of board process
and administration and the contribution made by each individual in
addition led by richard greenhalgh the chairman’s performance was
evaluated by means of a questionnaire the outcomes of these assessments
were then reported to and discussed by the whole board the conclusion
was reached that the board continues to function effectively and that both
the board and its committees were discharging their duties in full
accordance with their terms of reference
the performance of the remuneration committee during the year was 
also appraised by the board the audit committee’s performance and the
effectiveness of the external audit process were evaluated through the
completion of suitable questionnaires the results of these evaluations
which were carried out by the members of the committee were then
reviewed by the board
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 35
corporate governance corporate governance continued
reelection of directors
all directors are subject to reappointment by shareholders at the ﬁrst
annual general meeting following their appointment and thereafter at
intervals of not more than three years apart nonexecutive directors are
engaged for an initial period of three years subject to their reappointment
having been conﬁrmed by shareholders as described above
the board is satisﬁed that the chairman and each nonexecutive director 
is able to devote the necessary amount of time required to attend to the
company’s affairs
the audit committee
rank’s audit committee is comprised solely of independent nonexecutive
directors details of the committee’s membership throughout 2007 are 
as follows
date ﬁrst
appointed
john warren january 2006
brendan o’neill october 2004
bill shannon april 2006
 resigned 31 december 2007
john warren has chaired this committee since april 2006
the board is satisﬁed that all members of the committee have recent 
and relevant ﬁnancial experience normally the chairman chief executive
ﬁnance director and the company secretary as head of internal audit
attend committee meetings as do representatives of the external auditors
the audit committee’s responsibilities are set out on page 29 its terms 
of reference are available on request to the company secretary
the committee meets at least annually with the external auditors 
without management being present the committee keeps under 
review the independence and objectivity of the external auditors and their
effectiveness in particular the committee oversees the nature and amount
of nonaudit work undertaken by pricewaterhousecoopers llp each year 
to ensure that external auditor independence is safeguarded all nonaudit
services above a value of £50000 to be performed by the external auditors
are required to be approved by the audit committee in advance and the
group’s policy is that where appropriate nonaudit work is put out to
competitive tender details of the year’s fees paid to the external auditors
are given in note 3 to the ﬁnancial statements
during the year the gambling commission undertook a compliance review
of the grosvenor and mecca businesses and the results of that review were
considered by the committee
the finance committee
the finance committee’s responsibilities are set out on page 29
alun cathcart chaired this committee until peter johnson took over from
him on 1 march 2007
the nominations committee
the nominations committee’s responsibilities are set out on page 29
peter johnson replaced alun cathcart as chairman of the committee on
1 march 2007
during 2007 the committee met formally on four occasions and endorsed
the reappointment of richard greenhalgh as a nonexecutive director 
and also taking into account the existing balance of skills knowledge 
and experience on the board assessed the need for a replacement 
nonexecutive director for brendan oneill following his retirement 
on 31 december 2007
the remuneration committee
the remuneration committee is comprised solely of independent non
executive directors richard greenhalgh has chaired the committee since
april 2006 with bill shannon and john warren being its other members
the committee meets not less than twice a year and is responsible for
determining the remuneration packages of the chairman the executive
directors and other members of the executive committee details of the
remuneration committee’s deliberations during 2007 are contained in the
remuneration report on pages 30 to 34 which also summarises the
company’s remuneration policy and contains details of directors’
remuneration the committee met formally on seven occasions during 2007
meetings attendance
details of attendances actual and possible in brackets of directors and
committee members at the principal board and committee meetings held
in 2007 were as follows
board audit rem nom finance
total 10 total 4 total 7 total 4 total 21
alun cathcart 12 – – 11 13
peter johnson 1010 – – 44 1718
ian burke 1010 – – 44 1921
peter gill 1010 – – – 1921
richard greenhalgh 1010 – 77 34 –
brendan o’neill 1010 44 – 44 –
bill shannon 910 34 77 44 –
john warren 1010 44 77 44 –
 resigned 28 february 2007
 resigned 31 december 2007
in the few instances when a director was not able to attend board or
committee meetings his comments on the papers to be considered 
at that meeting were relayed in advance to the relevant chairman
the executive committee
the executive committee is not a committee of the board its role is 
to assist the chief executive in fulﬁlling his responsibilities for directing 
and promoting the proﬁtable operation and development of the group
consistent with the primary objective of creating longterm shareholder
value the names of its current members and the positions that they hold
within the company are set out on page 29
accountability and audit
the process by which the board applies the principles of accountability and
audit is set out below a statement of the directors’ responsibilities in relation
to the ﬁnancial statements is given on page 39
relations with shareholders
the company maintains an active dialogue with its institutional
shareholders and city analysts through a planned programme of investor
relations and regular meetings are held with principal shareholders the
outcome of these meetings is reported to the whole board to ensure it
keeps in touch with shareholder opinion the programme includes formal
presentations of the interim and the full year results
all shareholders are welcome to attend the annual general meeting 
and private investors are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity 
given to ask questions the chairmen of the audit remuneration and
nominations committees attend the meeting and are available to answer
questions as appropriate a summary presentation of the company’s 
results and development plans is given by the chief executive at the 
annual general meeting prior to the commencement of the formal
business of that meeting
compliance with the code provisions
save in respect of the length of the contractual notice period of the newly
appointed chief executive which did not reduce from 24 months to 12
months until 6 march 2007 the company has throughout the year
complied fully with the provisions of the code
36 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
directors’ report governance risk management and internal control
the board maintained the procedures necessary to comply with the
requirements of the existing code relating to internal control as described in
the october 2005 publication entitled ‘internal control revised guidance
for directors on the combined code’ turnbull report in relation to code
provision c21 the board reports below on the procedures that have been
applied in reviewing the effectiveness of the system of internal control
the board conﬁrms that there is an ongoing process for identifying
evaluating and managing the signiﬁcant risks faced by the company 
the process has been in place throughout the year and up to the date 
of approval of the annual report and ﬁnancial statements it is regularly
reviewed by the board and accords with the guidance set out in the
turnbull report
the directors acknowledge that they are responsible for the group’s system
of internal control for setting policy on internal control and for reviewing
the effectiveness of internal control the role of management is to
implement board policies on risk and control the system of internal control
is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve
business objectives and can only provide reasonable and not absolute
assurance against material misstatement or loss
considerable importance is placed on maintaining a strong control
environment in particular there is a simple organisational structure with
clearly drawn lines of accountability and delegation of authority adherence
to speciﬁed codes of conduct is required at all times and the board actively
promotes a culture of quality and integrity
a risk assessment process was established in 2006 which is designed to
identify the key strategic operational ﬁnancial and compliance risks that
the business faces it includes an analysis of the likelihood and impact for
each of the risks identiﬁed for the key risks action plans have been
developed and are monitored as part of management’s procedures
as part of the risk management process the audit committee and 
the board is provided with a report detailing signiﬁcant risks facing the
group in order to further develop a full risk assessment for the group 
an executive workshop identiﬁed strategic operational compliance and
ﬁnancial issues faced by the business and ranked the key issues based on
their impact and likelihood
the group has an internal audit function that reports to the company
secretary which is additionally supported by ernst and young llp  
detailed control procedures exist throughout the operations of the group
and compliance is monitored by management internal auditors and to 
the extent they consider necessary to support their audit report the
external auditors additionally a separate compliance function monitors
daytoday adherence to the provisions of the gambling act and other
licensing obligations
the audit committee has reviewed the effectiveness of the system of
internal control during the year ended 31 december 2007 this has
included consideration of the groupwide risk assessment and the results 
of selfcertiﬁcation of internal control exercises undertaken throughout 
the group the audit committee has also considered reports from the
external auditors
during the year reports were submitted to the committee from the
internal audit team summarising the work planned and undertaken
recommending improvements and describing the actions taken 
by management the risk assessment process and the riskdriven 
annual internal audit plan were also presented for approval by the 
audit committee
the audit committee has reported the results of its work to the board 
the board has considered these reports when undertaking its review 
of the effectiveness of the group’s system of internal control
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 37 other statutory information
share capital
in march 2007 the companys ordinary 10p shares were subdivided 
and consolidated into ordinary 13 89p shares in conjunction with the
special dividend payment disclosed in note 9 to the ﬁnancial statements
shareholders received 18 new rank shares for every 25 existing rank shares
held on 23 march 2007 apart from having a different nominal value each
new ordinary 13 89p share carries the same rights as were set out in the
articles of association for each existing ordinary 10p share prior to the
share consolidation taking place
details of the ordinary shares allotted and issued pursuant to the exercise 
of options under rank’s share option schemes are set out in note 33 to 
the ﬁnancial statements
a resolution will be proposed at the annual general meeting to authorise
the directors to allot and grant rights over the unissued share capital and 
to authorise the directors to allot and grant rights over ordinary shares for
cash up to a maximum nominal amount representing 5 of the issued
ordinary share capital without ﬁrst making a pro rata offer to all existing
ordinary shareholders
a special resolution will also be proposed at the annual general meeting 
to authorise the company to purchase up to 15 of its ordinary shares at
or between the minimum and maximum prices speciﬁed in the resolution
set out in the notice of meeting the authority would only be exercised by
the directors if they considered it to be in the best interests of shareholders
generally and if the purchase could be expected to result in an increase in
earnings per share the company funded the purchase of £21m of its own
ordinary shares by the rank group employee beneﬁt trust which will use
them to satisfy the future vesting of awards made under the company’s
share schemes
in 2006 the company ﬁled a form 15 with the sec in order to terminate 
its registration and thereby suspend its reporting and other applicable 
us obligations including compliance with the sarbanesoxley act in
september 2007 the company ﬁled a further form 15 in the usa in order
to terminate permanently its sec periodic reporting obligations such that
there should no longer be a need to invoke any compulsory transfer and
disposal requirements for us holders of the companys shares in the future
payment of suppliers
the company and its subsidiaries agree terms and conditions for their
business transactions with their suppliers payment is then made on these
terms subject to the terms and conditions being met by the supplier 
the company has no trade creditors
signiﬁcant shareholdings
at the date of this report the following interests of 3 or more of the total
voting rights attached to the ordinary shares have been notiﬁed to the
company in accordance with the financial services authority’s disclosure
and transparency rules
voting  date
rights held notiﬁed
abn amro bank nv 11784009 302 061107
aviva plc 15350633 393 200707
barclays plc 20721664 382 191206
bt pension scheme 48368332 1239 300707
– hermes uk focus fund 27505447 704 300707
– devon county council 16442066 304 241106
fidelity international ltd 34488035 636 210307
genting berhad 43092136 1103 070208 
the goldman sachs group inc 24082810 617 120208 
hong leong co malaysia berhad 23621020 605 060208
legal  general group plc 15698452 401 071107
prudential plc 41332391 762 240107
schroders plc 19414982 497 051007
sun life assurance company 12320708 315 231107
of canada uk ltd
 hermes is associated with the bt pension scheme and the devon county council is
associated with hermes
charitable and political donations
charitable donations made or committed in the uk during the year
amounted to £236000 2006 £244000 the largest single commitment
was £220000 2006 £220000 in favour of responsibility in gambling
trust the group made no political donations during the year
annual general meeting
the 2008 annual general meeting will be held on 7 may and the full text 
of the notice of the meeting together with explanatory notes is set out in 
a separate document which for shareholders is enclosed with this report
auditors
the auditors pricewaterhousecoopers llp  are willing to continue in ofﬁce
and a resolution that they be reappointed at a remuneration to be agreed
by the directors will be proposed at the annual general meeting
so far as the directors are aware there is no relevant audit information of
which the auditors are unaware each director has taken all of the steps that
he thought should have been taken to make himself aware of any relevant
audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware 
of that information
by order of the board
pamela coles
company secretary
28 february 2008
38 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
directors’ report governance the directors are responsible for preparing the annual report the
remuneration report and the ﬁnancial statements in accordance with
applicable law and regulations
company law requires the directors to prepare ﬁnancial statements for 
each ﬁnancial year under that law the directors have prepared the group
and parent company ﬁnancial statements in accordance with international
financial reporting standards ‘ifrs’ as adopted by the european union
the ﬁnancial statements are required by law to give a true and fair view of
the state of affairs of the company and the group and of the proﬁt or loss
of the group for that period
in preparing these 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
– state that the ﬁnancial statements comply with ifrs as adopted by the
european union and
– prepare the ﬁnancial statements for both the company and the group
on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that 
the group will continue in business in which case there should be
supporting assumptions or qualiﬁcations as necessary
the directors conﬁrm that they have complied with the above requirements
in preparing the ﬁnancial statements
the directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that
disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the ﬁnancial position of the
company and the group and to enable them to ensure that the ﬁnancial
statements and the remuneration report comply with the companies act
1985 and as regards the group ﬁnancial statements article 4 of the ias
regulation they are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the
company and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the
prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities
the directors are also responsible for the maintenance and integrity 
of ranks corporate website on which this annual report and ﬁnancial
statements will be published in relation to this the directors would like 
to draw attention to the fact that legislation in the uk concerning the
preparation and dissemination of ﬁnancial statements may differ from
legislation in other jurisdictions
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 39
statement of directors’ responsibilities independent auditors’ report to the members of the rank group plc
we have audited the group and parent company ﬁnancial statements 
the ‘‘ﬁnancial statements’’ of the rank group plc for the year ended
31 december 2007 which comprise the group income statement the
group and company balance sheets the group and company cash ﬂow
statements the group statement of recognised income and expense and
the related notes these ﬁnancial statements have been prepared under the
accounting policies set out therein we have also audited the information in
the directors’ remuneration report that is described as having been audited
respective responsibilities of directors and auditors
the directors’ responsibilities for preparing the annual report the 
directors’ report remuneration report and the ﬁnancial statements in
accordance with applicable law and international financial reporting
standards ifrss as adopted by the european union are set out in the
statement of directors’ responsibilities
our responsibility is to audit the ﬁnancial statements and the part of the
directors’ remuneration report to be audited in accordance with relevant
legal and regulatory requirements and international standards on auditing
uk and ireland this report including the opinion has been prepared for
and only for the company’s members as a body in accordance with section
235 of the companies act 1985 and for no other purpose we do not in
giving this opinion accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose 
or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands 
it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing
we report to you our opinion as to whether the ﬁnancial statements give a
true and fair view and whether the ﬁnancial statements and the part of the
directors’ remuneration report to be audited have been properly prepared
in accordance with the companies act 1985 and as regards the group
ﬁnancial statements article 4 of the ias regulation we also report to you
whether in our opinion the information given in the directors report is
consistent with the ﬁnancial statements 
in addition we report to you if in our opinion the company has not kept
proper accounting records if we have not received all the information and
explanations we require for our audit or if information speciﬁed by law
regarding directors’ remuneration and other transactions is not disclosed
we review whether the corporate governance statement reﬂects the
company’s compliance with the nine provisions of the combined code
2006 speciﬁed for our review by the listing rules of the financial services
authority and we report if it does not we are not required to consider
whether the board’s statements on internal control cover all risks and
controls or form an opinion on the effectiveness of the group’s corporate
governance procedures or its risk and control procedures
we read other information contained in the annual report and consider
whether it is consistent with the audited ﬁnancial statements the other
information comprises only the directors’ report which includes the
unaudited part of the directors’ remuneration report the business review
and the corporate governance statement we consider the implications for
our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material
inconsistencies with the ﬁnancial statements our responsibilities do not
extend to any other information
basis of audit opinion
we conducted our audit in accordance with international standards on
auditing uk and ireland issued by the auditing practices board an audit
includes examination on a test basis of evidence relevant to the amounts
and disclosures in the ﬁnancial statements and the part of the directors’
remuneration report to be audited it also includes an assessment of the
signiﬁcant estimates and judgments made by the directors in the
preparation of the ﬁnancial statements and of whether the accounting
policies are appropriate to the group’s and company’s circumstances
consistently applied and adequately disclosed
we planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information 
and explanations which we considered necessary in order to provide us
with sufﬁcient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the ﬁnancial
statements and the part of the directors’ remuneration report to be audited
are free from material misstatement whether caused by fraud or other
irregularity or error in forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall
adequacy of the presentation of information in the ﬁnancial statements 
and the part of the directors’ remuneration report to be audited
opinion
in our opinion
– the group ﬁnancial statements give a true and fair view in accordance
with ifrss as adopted by the european union of the state of the
group’s affairs as at 31 december 2007 and of its proﬁt and cash ﬂows
for the year then ended
– the parent company ﬁnancial statements give a true and fair view in
accordance with ifrss as adopted by the european union as applied in
accordance with the provisions of the companies act 1985 of the state
of the parent company’s affairs as at 31 december 2007 and cash ﬂows
for the year then ended
– the ﬁnancial statements and the part of the directors’ remuneration
report to be audited have been properly prepared in accordance 
with the companies act 1985 and as regards the group ﬁnancial
statements article 4 of the ias regulation and
– the information given in the directors report is consistent with the
ﬁnancial statements
pricewaterhousecoopers llp
chartered accountants and registered auditors
london
28 february 2008
40 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
statutory reports and ﬁnancial statements group income statement
for the year ended 31 december 2007
2007 2006 restated
before exceptional before exceptional
exceptional items exceptional items
items note 4 total items note 4 total
note £m £m £m £m £m £m
continuing operations
revenue 2 5344 – 5344 5496 – 5496
cost of sales 2839 – 2839 2825 – 2825
gross proﬁt 2505 – 2505 2671 – 2671
other operating costs income 3 1822 452 2274 1939 537 1402
group operating proﬁt loss 2 683 452 231 732 537 1269
financing
– ﬁnance costs 274 – 274 362 147 509
– ﬁnance income 53 – 53 32 – 32
– amortisation of equity component of convertible bond 36 – 36 30 – 30
– unwinding of discount in disposal provisions 13 – 13 –––
– net return on deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset 105 – 105 67 – 67
– other ﬁnancial gains losses 05 – 05 100 – 100
total net ﬁnancing charge 5 160 – 160 193 147 340
proﬁt loss before taxation 3 523 452 71 539 390 929
taxation 6 207 83 124 46 262 216
loss proﬁt for the year from continuing operations 316 369 53 493 652 1145
discontinued operations 7 14 3154 3168 215 170 45
proﬁt for the year 330 2785 3115 708 482 1190
proﬁt attributable to equity shareholders 26 330 2785 3115 690 482 1172
proﬁt attributable to minority interest 27 –– – 18 – 18
330 2785 3115 708 482 1190
earnings per share attributable to equity shareholders
– basic 10 77p 647p 724p 118p 81p 199p
– diluted 10 77p 647p 724p 118p 81p 199p
earnings loss per share – continuing operations
– basic 10 73p 85p 12p 84p 111p 195p
– diluted 10 73p 85p 12p 84p 111p 195p
earnings loss per share – discontinued operations
– basic 10 04p 732p 736p 34p 30p 04p
– diluted 10 04p 732p 736p 34p 30p 04p
details of dividends paid and payable to equity shareholders are disclosed in note 9
the notes on pages 45 to 85 are an integral part of these consolidated ﬁnancial statements
 details of the restatement to the 2006 comparatives are disclosed in note 39
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 41 balance sheets
at 31december 2007
financial statements
42 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
group company
2007 2006 2007 2006
restated
note £m £m £m £m
assets
noncurrent assets
intangible assets 11 1790 1732 – –
property plant and equipment 12 1792 2038 – –
investments 14 01 05 13436 13436
deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset 34 1307 758 – –
deferred tax assets 15 135 97 – 02
trade and other receivables 17 15 84 – –
5040 4714 13436 13438
current assets
financial assets
– derivative ﬁnancial instruments 22 06 95 – –
– cash and cash equivalents 29 721 836 03 01
inventories 16 34 43 – –
trade and other receivables 17 299 567 436 443
1060 1541 439 444
assets held for sale 7 – 2420 – –
1060 3961 439 444
total assets 6100 8675 13875 13882
liabilities
current liabilities
financial liabilities
– ﬁnancial guarantees 20 – – 13 11
– derivative ﬁnancial instruments 2022 25 26 – –
– loan capital and borrowings 2022 607 108 29 27
trade and other payables 18 1038 1252 5252 1333
current tax liabilities 19 54 23 – –
provisions for other liabilities and charges 24 204 127 – 06
1928 1536 5294 1377
liabilities held for sale 7 – 445 – –
1928 1981 5294 1377
net current liabilities assets 868 1980 4855 933
noncurrent liabilities
financial liabilities
– derivative ﬁnancial instruments 2022 – 16 – –
– loan capital and borrowings 2022 3310 5105 1631 1587
deferred tax liabilities 15 75 77 – –
other noncurrent liabilities 23 320 329 – –
provisions for other liabilities and charges 24 600 414 ––
4305 5941 1631 1587
total liabilities 6233 7922 6925 2964
net liabilities assets 133 753 6950 10918
capital and reserves attributable to the company’s equity shareholders
ordinary shares 25 542 542 542 542
share premium 26 982 981 982 981
capital redemption reserve 26 334 334 334 334
exchange translation reserve 26 03 45 – –
other reserves 26 1988 1059 5092 9061
total shareholders’ deﬁcit equity 133 753 6950 10918
minority interests 27 – – – –
total deﬁcit equity 133 753 6950 10918
the notes on pages 45 to 85 are an integral part of these consolidated ﬁnancial statements
 details of the restatement to the 2006 comparatives are disclosed in note 39
these ﬁnancial statements were approved by the board on 28 february 2008 and signed on its behalf by
ian burke chief executive
peter gill ﬁnance director group statement of recognised income and expense
for the year ended 31 december 2007
2007 2006
note £m £m
proﬁt for the year 3115 1190
currency translation net of tax and hedging 44 283
actuarial gain on deﬁned beneﬁt pension scheme net of tax 34 174 647
adjustment in respect of deferred tax on pensions from 30 to 28 6 24 –
revaluation of availableforsale securities 04 228
revaluation of availableforsale securities recycled within net proﬁt 4 444 121
cumulative foreign exchange losses recycled within net proﬁt 4 86 –
total recognised income for the year 2907 1903
– attributable to equity shareholders 2907 1885
– attributable to minority interest – 18
2907 1903
the notes on pages 45 to 85 are an integral part of these consolidated ﬁnancial statements
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 43 cash ﬂow statements
for the year ended 31 december 2007
financial statements
group company
2007 2006 2007 2006
note £m £m £m £m
cash ﬂows from operating activities
cash generated from operations 28 860 703 06 12
interest received 58 50 – –
interest paid 356 632 65 102
tax paid 41 39 – –
additional pension payments 196 500 – –
discontinued operations 03 75––
net cash from used in operating activities 322 343 59 114
cash ﬂows from investing activities
proceeds from sale of businesses net of cash disposed 31 4962 4498 – –
acquisition of businesses 04 06 – –
purchase of intangible assets 42 40 – –
purchase of property plant and equipment 431 462 – –
proceeds from sale of property plant and equipment 233 101 – –
proceeds from sale and leaseback net of lease assignment 61 1719 – –
proceeds from sale of investments – 88 – –
discontinued operations 14 218 – –
net cash from investing activities 4765 5680 – –
cash ﬂows from ﬁnancing activities
net proceeds from issue of ordinary share capital 01 52 01 52
purchase of own shares 21 – 21 –
dividends paid to shareholders – ordinary 234 741 234 741
dividends paid to shareholders – special 3525 – 3525 –
share buyback – 2014 – 2014
debt due within one year
– drawdown on syndicated facilities 1500 – – –
debt due after more than one year
– repayment of sterling borrowings – 350 – –
– repayment of dollar borrowings – 2191 – –
– drawdown on syndicated facilities – 3001 – –
– repayment of syndicated facilities 2852 3263 – –
– other 12 – – –
finance lease principal payments 21 16 – –
amounts received from subsidiaries – – 3840 2810
discontinued operations 01 138 – –
net cash used in from ﬁnancing activities 5165 5660 61 107
effects of exchange rate changes 10 17 – –
net decrease increase in cash and cash equivalents 68 340 02 07
cash and cash equivalents at 1 january 754 1094 01 08
cash and cash equivalents at 31 december 29 686 754 03 01
details of cash ﬂows relating to discontinued operations are provided in note 7
the notes on pages 45 to 85 are an integral part of these consolidated ﬁnancial statements
44 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements notes to the ﬁnancial statements
1 general information and accounting policies
the rank group plc is a company incorporated in the united kingdom
under the companies act 1985 the address of the registered ofﬁce is 
given on page 87
statement of compliance
the group ﬁnancial statements have been prepared in accordance with 
eu endorsed international accounting and financial reporting standards
‘ifrs’ and ifric interpretations and with those parts of the companies 
act 1985 applicable to companies reporting under ifrs 
the principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of these
ﬁnancial statements are set out below
a basis of preparation of the ﬁnancial statements
the ﬁnancial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention
as modiﬁed by the revaluation of availableforsale investments ﬁnancial
assets and liabilities held for trading and noncurrent assets held for sale 
in adopting the going concern basis for preparing the ﬁnancial statements
the directors have considered the issues impacting the group during 2007
as detailed in the business review on pages 2 to 27 and have reviewed the
group’s projected compliance with its banking covenants detailed in the
finance review on page 24 based on the group’s cash ﬂow forecasts and
operating budgets which take into account management’s actions on
capital expenditure cost control and the suspension of the dividend and
assuming that trading continues broadly in line with current expectations
the directors believe that the group will generate sufﬁcient cash to meet 
its borrowing requirements for the next 12 months and comply with its
banking covenants
a summary of the group’s signiﬁcant accounting policies is set out below
except where noted below these policies have been consistently applied
a amendments to published standards effective in 2007
– ifrs 7 financial instruments disclosure 
– ias 1 amendment capital disclosures
ifrs 7 and the complementary amendment to ias 1 introduce new
disclosures relating to ﬁnancial instruments this standard does not 
have any impact on the classiﬁcation and valuation of the group’s 
ﬁnancial instruments
b standards amendments and interpretations effective in 2007 but 
not relevant
the following standards amendments and interpretations to 
published standards are mandatory for accounting periods beginning 
on or after 1 january 2007 but they are not material or relevant to the
group’s operations
– ifric 7 applying the restatement approach under ias 29 financial
reporting in hyperinﬂationary economies
– ifric 8 scope of ifrs 2
– ifirc 9 reassessment of embedded derivatives and
– ifric 10 interim financial reporting and impairment
c voluntary changes in accounting policies
in 2007 the rank group plc changed its accounting policies for exceptional
items and the net return on its deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset the group
has adjusted comparative amounts disclosed for the prior period presented
as if the new accounting policies had always been applied see note 39
i exceptional items 
the group now deﬁnes exceptional items as those items which by their 
size or nature are separately disclosed in order to give a full understanding 
of the groups ﬁnancial performance and aid comparability of the groups
result between periods this would include to the extent they are material
gains or losses on the disposal of property impairments of the carrying value
of clubs and associated onerous lease provisions costs of club closures
onerous lease provisions on vacant properties and disposal of businesses
previously the group deﬁned exceptional items as those nonrecurring
items which by their nature or size would distort the comparability of the
group’s result from year to year the impact of the policy change is to
reclassify certain costs from operating items to exceptional in relation to
impairments and proﬁts on disposal of mecca bingo clubs in 2006
ii net return on the deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset
the group has also reviewed its policy in relation to the classiﬁcation 
within the income statement of the net return arising on its deﬁned beneﬁt
pension asset to improve comparability of the results and in accordance
with accounting best practice the group has decided to reclassify the net
return arising on the deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset from operating proﬁt to
net ﬁnancing costs
d critical accounting estimates and judgements
the preparation of ﬁnancial information in conformity with ifrs requires
the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of
assets and liabilities at the date of the ﬁnancial information and the reported
amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period it also
requires management to exercise its judgement in the process of applying
the accounting policies the areas involving a higher degree of judgement
or complexity or areas where assumptions and estimates are signiﬁcant to
the consolidated ﬁnancial statements are set out below the best estimates
of the directors may differ from the actual results
note
categorisation of items as exceptional 1w 4
assets and liabilities carried at fair value 1g
hedge accounting 1g
retirement beneﬁts 1m 34
assets and liabilities held for sale 1u
carrying value of assets and potential impairments 1l 13
estimated economic lives and residual values 1j 1k
recoverability of deferred tax assets 1o 15
b consolidation
a subsidiaries
subsidiaries are entities over which the group has the power to govern the
ﬁnancial and operating policies generally accompanying a shareholding 
of more than one half of the voting rights the existence and effect of
potential voting rights that are currently exercisable or convertible are
considered when assessing whether the group controls another entity 
all subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is
transferred to the group they are deconsolidated from the date that
control ceases
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 45 notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements
1 general information and accounting policies continued
the purchase method of accounting is used to account for the acquisition
of subsidiaries by the group the cost of an acquisition is measured as 
the fair value of the assets given equity instruments issued and liabilities
incurred or assumed at the date of exchange plus costs directly 
attributable to the acquisition identiﬁable assets acquired liabilities and
contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured
initially at their fair values at the acquisition date irrespective of the extent
of any minority interest the excess of the cost of acquisition over the fair
value of the group’s share of the identiﬁable net assets acquired is recorded
as goodwill if the cost of acquisition is less than the fair value of the net
assets of the subsidiary acquired the difference is recognised directly in 
the income statement
intercompany transactions balances and unrealised gains on transactions
between group companies are eliminated unrealised losses are also
eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of 
the asset transferred accounting policies as applied to subsidiaries have
been changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies
adopted by the group
b associates and joint ventures discontinued operations
joint ventures are all entities over which the group exercises joint control
associates are all entities over which the group exercises signiﬁcant
inﬂuence but not control investments in joint ventures and associates 
are accounted for by the equity method of accounting and are initially
recognised at cost in accordance with the alternative treatment allowed 
by ias 31 and ias 28 the group’s investment in joint ventures includes
goodwill identiﬁed on acquisition net of any accumulated impairment loss
the group’s share of its associates’ and joint ventures’ postacquisition
proﬁts or losses after tax is recognised in the income statement and its
share of postacquisition movements in reserves is recognised in reserves
the cumulative postacquisition movements are adjusted against the
carrying amount of the investment
when the group’s share of losses after tax in an associate or joint venture
equals or exceeds its interest or participation including any other 
unsecured receivables the group does not recognise further losses unless 
it has incurred obligations or made payments on behalf of the associate or
joint venture
unrealised gains on transactions between the group and its associates 
and joint ventures are eliminated to the extent of the group’s interest or
participation unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction
provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred 
accounting policies as applied to associates and joint ventures have been
changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted
by the group
c revenue recognition 
revenue consists of the fair value of sales of goods and services net of 
value added tax contract advance amortisation rebates and discounts
a gaming win
revenue for casinos includes the gaming win before deduction of 
gaming duty revenue for bingo is net of prizes and value added tax 
before deduction of gross proﬁts tax revenue for blue square including
sports betting and online casinos represents gross win margin although
disclosed as revenue gaming win is accounted for and meets the 
deﬁnition of a gain under ias 39 financial instruments recognition 
and measurement
b sale of goods discontinued operations only
revenue from the sale of goods is recognised when the signiﬁcant risks 
and beneﬁts of ownership of the product have transferred to the buyer
which may be upon shipment or upon completion of the product and 
the product being ready for delivery based on the speciﬁc contract terms
c rendering of services discontinued operations only
revenue from services is recognised in the accounting year the services 
have been rendered by reference to the stage of completion of the
transaction at the balance sheet date 
d sale of recovered materials discontinued operations only
recovered products are deemed to have an immaterial realisable value
compared with the cost of production materials income from the sale 
of recovered materials is not recognised as such being offset against the
materials cost
e finance income
interest income is recognised on a time proportion basis using the effective
interest method 
d segmental reporting
management has identiﬁed business segments as its primary reporting
segments a business segment is deﬁned as a group of assets and
operations engaged in providing products and services that are subject 
to risks and returns different from those of the other business segments 
management has identiﬁed geographical segments as its secondary
reporting segments a geographical segment is engaged in providing
products and services in a particular economic environment that are
subject to risks and returns different from those of a segment operating 
in other economic environments 
segment assets and liabilities are the result of segment operating activities
and are either directly attributable to the segment or can be allocated to 
the segment on a reasonable basis
segment revenue is revenue from operating activities directly attributable 
to a segment from sales to external customers
segment expense is expense resulting from the operating activities of 
a segment that is directly attributable to the segment and the relevant
portion of an expense that can be allocated on a reasonable basis to the
segment including expenses relating to sales to external customers
e foreign currency translation
a functional and presentation currency
items included in the ﬁnancial statements of each of the group’s entities 
are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment 
in which the entity operates ‘the functional currency’ the consolidated
ﬁnancial statements are presented in uk sterling which is the company’s
functional and presentation currency
46 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements b transactions and balances 
foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency
using the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the transactions 
foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of 
such transactions and from the translation at yearend exchange rates 
of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are
recognised in the income statement in ﬁnance costs except when deferred
in equity where hedging criteria are met
c group companies
the results and ﬁnancial position of all the group entities none of which
has the currency of a hyperinﬂationary economy that have a functional
currency different from the presentation currency are translated into the
presentation currency as follows
i assets and liabilities for each balance sheet presented are translated at the
closing rate at the date of that balance sheet the closing us dollar rate
against sterling was 199 2006 196 and the closing euro rate against
sterling was 136 2006 148
ii income and expenses for each income statement are translated 
at average exchange rates unless this average is not a reasonable
approximation of the cumulative effect of the rates prevailing on the
transaction dates in which case income and expenses are translated 
at the dates of the transactions the average us dollar rate against
sterling in the year was 201 2006 184 and the average euro rate
against sterling was 146 2006 147 and
iii all resulting exchange differences are recognised as a separate
component of equity
on consolidation exchange differences arising from the translation of 
the net investment in foreign entities and of borrowings and other 
currency instruments designated as hedges of such investments are taken
to shareholders’ equity when a foreign operation is sold such exchange
differences are recognised in the income statement net of hedging as part
of the gain or loss on sale goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on
the acquisition of a foreign entity are treated as assets and liabilities of the
foreign entity and translated at the closing rate
f financial assets
the group classiﬁes its ﬁnancial assets in the following categories loans and
receivables and availableforsale the classiﬁcation depends on the purpose
for which the ﬁnancial assets were acquired management determines the
classiﬁcation of its ﬁnancial assets at initial recognition
a loans and receivables
loans and receivables are nonderivative ﬁnancial assets with ﬁxed or
determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market they are
included in current assets except for maturities greater than 12 months
after the balance sheet date these are classiﬁed as noncurrent assets 
loans and receivables are classiﬁed as trade and other receivables in the
balance sheet
b availableforsale ﬁnancial assets
availableforsale ﬁnancial assets are nonderivatives that are either
designated in this category or not classiﬁed in any of the other categories
they are included in noncurrent assets unless management intends to
dispose of the investment within 12 months of the balance sheet date
securities are initially recognised at fair value plus transaction costs
subsequent changes in the fair value are recognised in equity the group
assesses at each balance sheet date whether there is objective evidence 
that a ﬁnancial asset or a group of ﬁnancial assets is impaired in the case 
of equity securities classiﬁed as availableforsale a signiﬁcant prolonged
decline in the fair value of the security below its cost is considered as an
indicator that the securities are impaired if any such evidence exists for
availableforsale ﬁnancial assets the cumulative loss – measured as the
difference between the acquisition costs and the current fair value less 
any impairment loss on that ﬁnancial asset previously recognised in the
income statement – is removed from equity and recognised in the 
income statement
when securities classiﬁed as availableforsale are sold or impaired the
accumulated fair value adjustments recognised in equity are included in 
the income statement
impairment testing of trade receivables is described in note 1q
g derivative ﬁnancial instruments and hedging activities
derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date a derivative
contract is entered into and are subsequently remeasured at their fair value
the method of recognising the resulting gain or loss depends on whether
the derivative is designated as a hedging instrument and if so the nature of
the item being hedged the group designates certain derivatives as either
i hedges of the fair value of recognised liabilities fair value hedge
ii hedges of a particular risk associated with a recognised liability or 
a highly probable forecast transaction cash ﬂow hedge or
iii hedges of a net investment in a foreign operation 
net investment hedge
the group documents at the inception of the transaction the relationship
between hedging instruments and hedged items as well as its risk
management objectives and strategy for undertaking various hedging
transactions the group also documents its assessment both at hedge
inception and on an ongoing basis of whether the derivatives that are 
used in hedging transactions are highly effective in offsetting changes in 
fair values or cash ﬂows of hedged items
the fair values of various derivative instruments used for hedging purposes
are disclosed in note 22
the full fair value of a hedging derivative is classiﬁed as a noncurrent asset
or liability when the remaining hedged item is more than 12 months it is
classiﬁed as a current asset or liability when the remaining maturity of the
hedged item is less than 12 months trading derivatives are classiﬁed as a
current asset or liability
i fair value hedges
changes in the fair value of derivatives that are designated and qualify as
fair value hedges are recorded in the income statement together with any
changes in the fair value of the hedged asset or liability that are attributable
to the hedged risk the group only applies fair value hedge accounting for
hedging ﬁxed interest risk on borrowings the gain or loss relating to both
the effective and ineffective portion of interest rate swaps hedging ﬁxed rate
borrowings is recognised in the income statement within ﬁnance costs
changes in the fair value of the hedge ﬁxed rate borrowings attributable 
to interest rate risk are recognised in the income statement within 
ﬁnance costs
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 47 notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements
1 general information and accounting policies continued
if the hedge no longer meets the criteria for hedge accounting the
adjustment to the carrying amount of a hedge item for which the 
effective interest method is used is amortised to proﬁt or loss over the
period to maturity
ii cash ﬂow hedge
the effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives that are
designated and qualify as cash ﬂow hedges are recognised in equity the
gain or loss relating to the ineffective portion is recognised immediately 
in the income statement within ﬁnance costs
when a hedging instrument expires or is sold or when a hedge no longer
meets the criteria for hedge accounting any cumulative gain or loss existing
in equity at that time remains in equity and is recognised when the forecast
transaction is ultimately recognised in the income statement when a
forecast transaction is no longer expected to occur the cumulative gain or
loss that was reported in equity is immediately transferred to the income
statement within operating costs
iii net investment hedge
hedges of net investments in foreign operations are accounted for similarly
to cash ﬂow hedges any gain or loss on the hedging instrument relating to
the effective portion of the hedge is recognised in equity the gain or loss
relating to the ineffective portion is recognised immediately in the income
statement within ﬁnance costs gains and losses accumulated in equity are
included in the income statement when the foreign operation is disposed
iv derivatives at fair value through proﬁt or loss
certain derivative instruments do not qualify for hedge accounting and are
accounted for at fair value through proﬁt or loss changes in the fair value
of these derivative instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting are
recognised immediately in the income statement within ﬁnance costs
h leases
leases are tested to determine whether the lease is a ﬁnance or operating
lease and treated accordingly property leases comprising a lease of land 
and a lease of buildings within a single contract are split into its two
component parts before testing
a finance leases
leases of property plant and equipment where the group has substantially
all the risks and rewards of ownership are classiﬁed as ﬁnance leases finance
leases are capitalised at the inception of the lease at the lower of the fair
value of the leased property plant and equipment or the present value of
minimum lease payments each lease payment is allocated between the
liability and ﬁnance charges so as to achieve a constant periodic rate of
interest on the remaining balance of the liability for each period the
corresponding rental obligations net of ﬁnance charges are included in
loan capital and borrowings the interest element of the ﬁnance cost is
charged to the income statement over the lease period the property 
plant and equipment acquired under ﬁnance leases is depreciated over 
the shorter of the useful life of the asset or the lease term
b operating leases
leases where a signiﬁcant portion of the risks and rewards of ownership 
are retained by the lessor are classiﬁed as operating leases payments made
under operating leases net of lease incentives or premiums are charged to
the income statement on a straight line basis over the period of the lease
i provisions 
provisions are recognised when the group has a present legal or
constructive obligation as a result of past events it is more likely than not
that an outﬂow of resources will be required to settle the obligation and the
amount can be reliably estimated provisions are measured at the present
value of the expenditures expected to be required to settle the obligation
using a pretax discount rate that reﬂects current market assessments of the
time value of money and the risks speciﬁc to the obligation the increase in
the provision due to passage of time is recognised as a ﬁnance cost
a onerous contracts
the group is party to a number of leasehold property contracts provision
has been made against those leases where the property is now vacant and
the unavoidable costs under the lease exceed the economic beneﬁt
expected to be derived from potential subletting arrangements provision
has also been made against leases where impairment testing has indicated
that after recognising an impairment charge the estimated discounted
cash ﬂows derived from the property and its associated operations are
insufﬁcient to cover the unavoidable lease costs and the lease is therefore
deemed onerous
b provision on disposal
following the disposal of an operation provision is made for the 
estimated future costs and potential warranty claims directly attributable 
to the disposal
j property plant and equipment
all property plant and equipment is stated at historical cost less
depreciation and any impairment historical cost includes expenditure 
that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the items 
subsequent costs are included in the asset’s carrying amount or recognised
as a separate asset as appropriate only when it is probable that future
economic beneﬁts associated with the item will ﬂow to the group and the
cost of the item can be measured reliably all other repairs and maintenance
are charged to the income statement during the ﬁnancial period in which
they are incurred 
land is not depreciated depreciation on other assets is calculated using the
straight line method to allocate their cost less their residual values over their
estimated useful lives as follows 
– freehold and leasehold property 50 years or their useful life if less
– refurbishment of property 3 to 15 years 
– ﬁxtures ﬁttings plant and equipment and others 3 to 20 years
the assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed and adjusted if
appropriate at each balance sheet date
an asset’s carrying amount is written down immediately to its recoverable
amount if the asset’s carrying amount is greater than its estimated
recoverable amount gains and losses on disposals are determined by
comparing proceeds with carrying amount these are included in the
income statement 
preopening costs are expensed to the income statement as incurred
the group does not capitalise interest
48 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements k intangible assets
a goodwill
goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquisition over the fair
value of the group’s share of the net identiﬁable assets of the acquired
subsidiary joint venture or associate at the date of acquisition goodwill 
on acquisitions of subsidiaries is included in intangible assets goodwill on
acquisitions of joint ventures is included in investments in joint ventures
goodwill is tested annually for impairment and carried at amortised cost as
at 1 january 2004 plus cost for any acquisition completed after 1 january
2004 less accumulated impairment losses gains and losses on the disposal
of an entity include the carrying amount of goodwill relating to the entity
sold except where goodwill has been previously written off directly to
reserves under previous gaap 
goodwill is allocated to the relevant cashgenerating unit or group of cash
generating units for the purpose of impairment testing 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 group
of assets 
goodwill arising on acquisitions made before 31 december 1997 has been
written off directly to reserves 
b computer software and other development costs
acquired computer software licences are capitalised on the basis of the 
costs incurred to acquire and bring to use the speciﬁc software these 
costs are amortised on a straight line basis over their estimated useful lives
3 to 5 years
costs associated with maintaining computer software programmes are
recognised as an expense as incurred costs that are directly associated 
with the production and development of identiﬁable and unique 
software products controlled by the group and that will probably 
generate economic beneﬁts exceeding costs beyond one year are
recognised as intangible assets for both externally purchased and internally
developed software direct costs include speciﬁc employee costs for
software development
computer software development costs recognised as assets are amortised
over their estimated useful lives estimated at between 2 to 5 years 
c casino and other gaming licences
the group capitalises acquired casino and other gaming licences the
amount capitalised is the difference between the price paid for a property 
or business and the associated licence and the fair value of a similar property
or business without a licence management believes that licences have
indeﬁnite lives as there is no foreseeable limit to the period over which the
licences are expected to generate net cash inﬂows and each licence holds 
a value outside the property in which it resides each licence is reviewed
annually for impairment 
any costs incurred to obtain a ‘cold’ casino licence or renewing casino
licences annually are expensed as incurred except for the cost of the licence
at acquisition
d other purchased intangible assets 
if acquired the group capitalises the costs of other intangible assets such as
brands trademarks and customer relationships costs incurred to internally
generate these intangible assets are expensed as incurred for business
combinations occurring after 1 january 2004 purchased intangible assets
are capitalised on the balance sheet at fair value on acquisition the
valuation of purchased intangible assets and determining the useful
economic life involves management making assumptions and estimates
which are highly judgemental and susceptible to change purchased
intangible assets with ﬁnite lives are amortised over their useful economic
lives estimated at between 2 to 9 years
l impairment of intangible assets and property plant and equipment 
assets that have an indeﬁnite useful life are not subject to amortisation and
are tested annually for impairment assets that are subject to amortisation
are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances
indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable
an impairment loss is recognised as the amount by which an asset’s
carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount the recoverable amount
is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use for the
purposes of assessing impairment assets are grouped at the lowest levels for
which there are separately identiﬁable cash ﬂows cashgenerating units
the expected cash ﬂows generated by the assets are discounted using
appropriate discount rates which reﬂect the risks associated with the
groups of assets
if an impairment loss is recognised the carrying amount of the asset cash
generating unit is reduced to its recoverable amount an impairment loss 
is recognised as an expense in the income statement immediately
where an impairment loss subsequently reverses the carrying amount 
of the asset cashgenerating unit is increased to the revised estimate of 
its recoverable amount but only to the extent that the increased carrying
amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been
determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset cash
generating unit in prior years 
a reversal of an impairment loss is recognised as income in the 
income statement immediately unless the relevant asset is carried 
at a revalued amount
m employee beneﬁt costs 
a pension obligations
the group has both deﬁned beneﬁt and deﬁned contribution plans the
schemes are generally funded through payments to insurance companies 
or trusteeadministered funds determined by periodic actuarial calculations
a deﬁned beneﬁt plan is a pension plan that deﬁnes an amount of pension
beneﬁt that an employee will receive on retirement usually dependent on
one or more factors such as age years of service and compensation a
deﬁned contribution plan is a pension plan under which the group pays
ﬁxed contributions into a separate entity the group has no legal or
constructive obligations to pay further contributions if the fund does not
hold sufﬁcient assets to pay all employees the beneﬁts relating to employee
service in the current and prior periods
the amount recognised in the balance sheet in respect of the deﬁned
beneﬁt pension plan is the fair value of plan assets less the present value 
of the deﬁned beneﬁt obligation at the balance sheet date together 
with adjustments for unrecognised actuarial gains or losses and past service
costs the deﬁned beneﬁt asset is calculated annually by independent
actuaries using the projected unit credit method the present value of the
deﬁned beneﬁt obligation is determined by discounting the estimated
future cash outﬂows using interest rates of highquality corporate bonds
that are denominated in the currency in which the beneﬁts will be paid
and that have terms to maturity approximating to the terms of the related
pension liability
the group recognises actuarial gains and losses immediately in the
statement of recognised income and expense
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 49 notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements
1 general information and accounting policies continued
pastservice costs are recognised immediately in operating proﬁt unless 
the changes to the pension plan are conditional on the employees
remaining in service for a speciﬁed period of time the vesting period in
this case the pastservice costs are amortised on a straight line basis over
the vesting period
the net return or cost arising on the deﬁned beneﬁt pension plan is
recognised in net ﬁnance costs
for deﬁned contribution plans the group pays contributions to publicly 
or privately administered pension insurance plans on a mandatory
contractual or voluntary basis the group has no further payment
obligations once the contributions have been paid the contributions 
are recognised as employee beneﬁt expense when they are due prepaid
contributions are recognised as an asset to the extent that a cash refund 
or a reduction in the future payments is available
b sharebased compensation
the group operates various equitysettled sharebased compensation
plans the fair value of the employee services received in exchange for the
grant of the options is recognised as an expense the total amount to be
expensed over the vesting period is determined by reference to the fair
value of the options granted excluding the impact of any nonmarket
vesting conditions for example proﬁtability and sales growth targets
nonmarket vesting conditions are included in assumptions about the
number of options that are expected to vest at each balance sheet date
the entity revises its estimates of the number of options that are expected 
to vest it recognises the impact of the revision of original estimates if any
in the income statement and a corresponding adjustment to equity
the proceeds received net of any directly attributable transaction costs are
credited to share capital nominal value and share premium when the
options are exercised
c termination beneﬁts
termination beneﬁts are payable when employment is terminated before
the normal retirement date or whenever an employee accepts voluntary
redundancy in exchange for these beneﬁts the group recognises
termination beneﬁts when it is demonstrably committed to either
terminating the employment of current employees according to a detailed
formal plan or providing termination beneﬁts as a result of an offer made 
to encourage voluntary redundancy beneﬁts falling due more than
12 months after the balance sheet date are discounted to present value
d bonus plans
the group recognises a liability and an expense for bonuses based on a
formula that takes into consideration the proﬁt and cash ﬂows attributable
to the company’s shareholders after certain adjustments the group
recognises a provision where contractually obliged or where there is a 
past practice that has created a constructive obligation
e holiday pay
the group recognises an appropriate liability for the cost of holiday
entitlements not taken at the balance sheet date
n inventories 
inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value cost 
of inventory is determined on a ‘ﬁrstin ﬁrstout’ basis
the cost of ﬁnished goods comprises raw material direct labour other
direct costs and related production overhead based on normal operating
capacity but excludes borrowing costs
net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of
business less the cost of completion and selling expenses when necessary
provision is made for obsolete and slowmoving inventories
o taxation including deferred tax 
current tax is applied to taxable proﬁts at the rates ruling in the 
relevant country
deferred tax is provided in full using the liability method on temporary
differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their
carrying amounts in the ﬁnancial statements however if deferred tax 
arises from the initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction 
other than a business combination that at the time of the transaction 
affects neither accounting nor taxable proﬁt or loss it is not accounted 
for deferred tax is determined using tax rates and laws that have been
enacted or substantially enacted by the balance sheet date and are
expected to apply when the related deferred tax asset is realised or the
deferred tax liability is settled
deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that
future taxable proﬁt will be available against which the temporary
differences can be utilised
deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally
enforceable right to set off current taxation assets against current taxation
liabilities and it is the intention to settle these on a net basis
deferred tax is provided on temporary differences arising on investments in
subsidiaries and associates except where the timing of the reversal of the
temporary difference is controlled by the group and it is probable that the
temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future
p cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand deposits held at call with
banks other short term highly liquid investments with original maturities 
of three months or less and bank overdrafts bank overdrafts are shown
within loan capital and borrowings in current liabilities on the balance sheet
q trade receivables 
trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently
measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method less
provision for impairment a provision for impairment of trade receivables is
established when there is objective evidence that the group will not be able
to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables
signiﬁcant ﬁnancial difﬁculties of the debtor probability that the debtor will
enter bankruptcy or ﬁnancial reorganisation and default or delinquency in
payments more than 30 days overdue are considered indicators that the
trade receivable is impaired the amount of the provision is the difference
between the asset’s carrying amount and the present value of estimated
future cash ﬂows discounted at the original effective interest rate the
carrying amount of the asset is reduced through the use of an allowance
account and the amount of the loss is recognised in the income statement
within operating costs when a trade receivable is uncollectible it is written
off against the allowance account for trade receivables subsequent
recoveries of amounts previously written off are credited against operating
costs in the income statement
50 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements r trade payables
trade payables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently
measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method
s borrowings 
borrowings are recognised at cost which is deemed to be materially the
same as the fair value net of transaction costs incurred any difference
between proceeds and redemption value is recognised in the income
statement using the effective interest method 
borrowings are classiﬁed as current liabilities unless the group has
unconditional right to defer settlement of the liability for at least 12 
months at the balance sheet date
the fair value of the liability portion of the convertible bond was determined
on the date of issue this amount is recorded as a liability and is held on an
amortised cost basis until such time as it is extinguished on conversion or
the maturity of the bonds the remaining proceeds have been allocated to
the conversion option and are recognised in shareholders’ funds this results
in a higher interest cost over the life of the bond as an equal and opposite
amount to the equity component is amortised through the income
statement as a ﬁnancing cost
t share capital
ordinary shares are classiﬁed as equity 
where any group company purchases the company’s equity share capital
treasury shares the consideration paid including any directly attributable
incremental costs net of income taxes is deducted from equity attributable
to the company’s equity holders until the shares are cancelled or reissued
where such shares are subsequently sold or reissued any consideration
received net of any directly attributable incremental transaction costs and
the related income tax effects is included in equity attributable to the
company’s equity holders
u discontinued operations and noncurrent assets held for sale
operations of the group are recognised as discontinued operations if the
operations have been disposed of or meet the criteria to be classiﬁed as 
held for sale operations held for sale are held at the lower of their carrying
amount on the dates they are classiﬁed as held for sale and fair value less
costs to sell
noncurrent assets and disposal groups are classiﬁed as held for sale if 
their carrying amount will be recovered through a sale transaction rather
than through continuing use this condition is regarded as met only when
the sale is highly probable and the asset or disposal group is available for
immediate sale in its present condition management must be committed
to the sale which should be expected to qualify for recognition as a
completed sale within one year from the date of classiﬁcation
v dividends
dividends proposed by the board of directors and unpaid at the period 
end are not recognised in the ﬁnancial statements until they have been
approved by shareholders at the annual general meeting interim dividends
are recognised when paid
w exceptional items
the group deﬁnes exceptional items as those items which by their size or
nature are separately disclosed in order to give a full understanding of the
groups ﬁnancial performance and aid comparability of the groups result
between periods this would include to the extent they are material gains
or losses on the disposal of property impairments of the carrying value of
clubs and associated onerous lease provisions costs of club closures
onerous lease provisions on vacant properties and disposal of businesses
x new standards and interpretations not applied
the iasb and ifric have issued the following standards and interpretations
with an effective date after the date of these ﬁnancial statements
effective date

ifrs 3 business combinations revised 1 july 2009
ifrs 8 operating segments 1 january 2009
ias 23 borrowing costs revised 1 january 2009
ifric 11 ifrs2 group and treasury share transactions 1 march 2007
ifric 14 the limit on a deﬁned beneﬁt asset 
minimum funding requirements and their interaction 1 january 2008

for annual periods beginning on or after
in addition ifric have issued the following standards and interpretations
that are not applicable to the rank group plc
ifric 12 service concession arrangements
ifric 13 customer loyalty schemes
the directors do not anticipate that the adoption of the above standards
and interpretations will have a material impact on the group’s ﬁnancial
statements in the period of initial application
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 51 2 segmental reporting
primary reporting format – business segments
mecca bingo top rank españa
2007 2006 2007 2006
restated restated
£m £m £m £m
continuing operations
segment revenue 2405 2617 323 311
operating proﬁt loss before exceptional items 436 636 93 89
exceptional operating proﬁt costs 276 352 – –
segment result 160 988 93 89
finance costs
finance income
amortisation of equity component of convertible bond
unwinding of discount in disposal provisions
net return on deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset
other ﬁnancial gains losses
proﬁt before taxation
taxation
loss proﬁt for the year from continuing operations
assets and liabilities
intangible assets
intangible assets with indeﬁnite useful lives – – 237 222
intangible assets with ﬁnite useful lives 05 06 – –
property plant and equipment 832 1062 264 212
financial assets – investments – – – –
other segment assets 148 156 20 19
total segment assets 985 1224 521 453
unallocated assets
total assets – continuing operations
assets of disposal group held for sale see note 7
total assets
total segment liabilities 509 381 54 71
unallocated liabilities
total liabilities – continuing operations
liabilities of disposal group held for sale see note 7
total liabilities
net liabilities assets
other segment items – continuing operations
capital expenditure 198 163 45 55
depreciation and amortisation 124 129 20 18
impairment losses 257 86 – –
52 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements
at 31 december 2007 the group’s continuing operations are organised into six main business segments mecca bingo top rank españa 
grosvenor casinos blue square gaming shared services and other includes primarily central costs and expenses relating to nontrading properties 
the activities of the segments are described on page 2 of the business review segmental information for discontinued operations is disclosed 
in note 7
segment assets include property plant and equipment intangible assets investments inventories and trade and other receivables segment liabilities
comprise current and noncurrent trade and other payables and provisions unallocated assets and liabilities comprise taxation corporate borrowings
derivative ﬁnancial instruments cash and cash equivalents and retirement beneﬁts intangible assets with indeﬁnite useful lives include £538m of 
goodwill relating to blue square
there are immaterial sales between the business segments 
capital expenditure comprises additions to property plant and equipment and other intangible assets
 details of the restatement to the 2006 comparatives are disclosed in note 39 grosvenor casinos blue square gaming shared services other total
2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006 2007 2006
restated restated restated restated restated
£m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
2095 2176 521 392 – – – – 5344 5496
299 363 109 78 185 260 69 174 683 732
107 373 – – – 67 69 121 452 537
192 736 109 78 185 327 138 295 231 1269
274 509
53 32
36 30
13 –
105 67
05 100
71 929
124 216
53 1145
922 885 538 538 – – – – 1697 1645
03 03 72 63 13 15 – – 93 87
664 733 16 15 16 15 – 01 1792 2038
– – – – – – 01 05 01 05
80 87 20 12 09 06 71 414 348 694
1669 1708 646 628 38 36 72 420 3931 4469
2169 1786
6100 6255
– 2420
6100 8675
355 291 136 103 42 46 751 915 1847 1807
4386 5670
6233 7477
– 445
6233 7922
133 753
171 244 45 28 14 11 – 01 473 502
95 94 32 33 14 14 – 01 285 289
82 – – 12 – – – – 339 98
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 53 2 segmental reporting continued 
total revenue and proﬁt loss from continuing and discontinued operations
revenue loss proﬁt for the year
2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m
from continuing operations 5344 5496 53 1145
from discontinued operations see note 7 356 4885 3168 45
5700 10381 3115 1190
secondary reporting format – geographical segments
following the sale of hard rock the groups business segments operate in two main geographical areas uk and europe the home country of the
company is the uk the areas of operations are principally the operation of bingo clubs casinos and online gaming and bookmaking services
north rest of
uk europe america the world total
year ended 31 december 2007 £m £m £m £m £m
total revenue 4926 514 244 16 5700
less sales attributable to discontinued operations see note 7 36 60 244 16 356
segment revenue from continuing operations 4890 454 – – 5344
other segment information
segment assets 3178 722 31 – 3931
unallocated assets 2169
total assets 6100
capital expenditure relating to continuing operations 420 53 – – 473
north rest of
uk europe america the world total
year ended 31 december 2006 £m £m £m £m £m
total revenue 5640 1388 3299 54 10381
less sales attributable to discontinued operations see note 7 587 945 3299 54 4885
segment revenue from continuing operations 5053 443 – – 5496
other segment information
segment assets restated 3592 613 264 – 4469
unallocated assets restated 1786
total assets – continuing operations 6255
assets of disposal groups held for sale see note 7 2420
total assets 8675
capital expenditure relating to continuing operations 440 62 – – 502
with the exception of the uk spain and usa 2006 only no individual country contributed more than 10 of consolidated sales or assets
segmental revenue by destination is not materially different from revenue by origin
54 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 3 proﬁt for the year
the following items have been charged credited in arriving at proﬁt for the year from continuing operations
2007 2006
restated
£m £m
employee beneﬁts expense see note 32 1565 1700
cost of inventories recognised as expense 214 227
depreciation of property plant and equipment 
– owned assets including £216m 2006 £217m within cost of sales 238 243
– under ﬁnance leases included within cost of sales 11 11
amortisation of intangibles including £05m 2006 £04m within cost of sales 36 35
operating lease rentals payable
– minimum lease payments 408 345
– sublease income 66 84
proﬁt on sale of property plant and equipment 01 02
exceptional items see note 4 452 537
auditors’ remuneration for audit services 07 10
 the employee beneﬁt expense has been restated for the reclassiﬁcation of the net return on the pension asset to ﬁnancing
in the year the group’s auditors pricewaterhousecoopers llp  including its network ﬁrms earned the following fees
2007 2006
£m £m
audit services
– fees payable to company’s auditor for the parent company and consolidated ﬁnancial statements 03 04
other services
fees payable to the company’s auditor and its associates for other services
– the audit of the company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation 04 06
– services relating to corporate ﬁnance transactions 01 25
– tax services 02 02
– other services 01 01
11 38
£69000 2006 £68000 of the audit fees related to the parent company
it is the group’s policy to employ pricewaterhousecoopers llp on assignments additional to their statutory audit duties where their expertise
and experience with the group are important principally in the areas of transaction services stock exchange transactions and tax advice 
the group’s policy is where appropriate that work is put out to competitive tender the audit committee monitors the relationship with
pricewaterhousecoopers llp including the level of nonaudit fees 
4 exceptional items
2007 2006
restated
note £m £m
exceptional items relating to continuing operations
impairment of clubs 339 86
provision for onerous leases 277 –
net proﬁt on sale of property less associated closure costs 164 191
proﬁt on sale and leaseback transaction – 553
loss on sale of investment – 121
exceptional items before ﬁnancing and taxation relating to continuing operations 452 537
financing charge – 147
taxation 6 83 262
exceptional items relating to continuing operations 369 652
exceptional items relating to discontinued operations
hard rock 3527 –
us holidays – 200
financing charge 99 –
taxation 6 274 30
exceptional items relating to discontinued operations 3154 170
total exceptional items 2785 482
the group’s deﬁnition of exceptional items is disclosed in note 1w
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 55 4 exceptional items continued
2007 exceptional items
continuing operations
following the introduction of the smoking ban in england and wales the loss of section 21 machine income and the unexpected rise in casino
duty an impairment charge of £339m and associated onerous lease provisions of £208m have been recognised during the year further details
of the impairment are included in note 13
during the year the group closed 11 mecca bingo clubs and one grosvenor casino the resulting proﬁt on sale of certain of the properties net
of associated closure and disposal costs was £164m
the group has a limited number of onerous leases at sites no longer used by the operating businesses the provision on these sites has been
increased by £69m as a result of lower sublet income and increased running costs
discontinued operations
the group completed the sale of hard rock on 5 march 2007 resulting in an exceptional proﬁt of £3527m before related ﬁnancing and
taxation costs of £373m the exceptional ﬁnancing charge relates to the costs associated with the currency option taken to hedge the receipt
of the us dollar proceeds and the write off of prepaid facility fees due to favourable movements in the exchange rate the currency option
hedge was not utilised the proﬁt arising includes cumulative foreign exchange losses of £86m and fair value gains of £444m in relation to
availableforsale securities these gains and losses had previously been recognised in equity further details of the exceptional proﬁt on disposal
are contained in note 31
2006 exceptional items
continuing operations
during 2006 the group completed a sale and leaseback and exit of surplus properties for net proceeds of £1719m the exceptional proﬁt
arising was £553m
during 2006 the group disposed of one mecca bingo club and the clermont casino for combined proceeds of £380m the exceptional 
proﬁt arising on the disposals was £191m
the group incurred an exceptional loss of £121m on the disposal of its investment in universal studios japan this loss had been previously
recognised in reserves and was recycled in net proﬁt on its realisation
the group recognised an impairment charge of £86m against the carrying value of certain mecca bingo clubs
during the year the group incurred a £147m exceptional ﬁnancing charge on the early repayment of the us private placement as a consequence
of the reﬁnancing following the sale of its deluxe businesses
discontinued operations
on 15 december 2006 the group disposed of its us holidays business for proceeds equivalent to £168m the exceptional loss arising on
disposal was £200m
5 financing
2007 2006
restated
£m £m
continuing operations
finance costs
interest payable on bank borrowings current and noncurrent 26 30
amortisation of issue costs of bank loan 16 18
interest payable on other loans 218 293
interest payable on ﬁnance leases 11 13
unwinding of discounts in provisions 03 08
total interest expense and similar charges 274 362
finance income 53 32
221 330
amortisation of equity component of convertible bond 36 30
unwinding of discount in disposal provisions 13 –
net return on deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset 105 67
other ﬁnancial gains losses 05 100
total net ﬁnancing cost for continuing operations before exceptional items 160 193
exceptional ﬁnancing costs see note 4 – 147
total net ﬁnancing cost for continuing operations 160 340
56 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 6 taxation
2007 2006
restated
£m £m
current income tax on continuing operations
current tax – uk 227 03
current tax – overseas 52 56
current tax charge 279 53
current tax on exceptional items 83 97
amounts under over provided in previous year 60 22
total current tax 256 66
deferred tax on continuing operations
deferred tax – uk 105 07
deferred tax – overseas 04 14
deferred tax on exceptional items – 165
restatement of deferred tax from 30 to 28 34 – 
amounts over under provided in previous year 57 36
total deferred tax 132 150
tax charge credit in the income statement on continuing operations 124 216
in 2007 current tax on exceptional items within continuing operations includes a tax credit of £83m relating to the £277m onerous lease charge
in 2006 current tax on exceptional items within continuing operations included a tax credit of £44m relating to exceptional ﬁnancing costs a tax
credit of £43m relating to transferred lease liabilities in respect of surplus properties and a £10m tax credit relating to the impairment charge
in 2006 deferred tax on exceptional items included a tax credit of £114m which relates to the sale and leaseback of properties and £51m on
the sale of the clermont club licence during the year the credits arose due to previously unrecognised losses
2007 2006
£m £m
current income tax on discontinued operations
current tax – uk 06 69
current tax – overseas – 29
current tax charge credit 06 40
current tax on exceptional items 49 – 
amounts over under provided in previous year 03 14
total current tax 46 26
deferred tax on discontinued operations
deferred tax – uk – 22
deferred tax – overseas – 38
deferred tax on exceptional items 323 30
amounts under provided in previous year – 05
total deferred tax 323 35
tax charge in the income statement on discontinued operations 277 09
the tax on the group’s proﬁt before tax on continuing operations differs from the standard rate of uk corporation tax 30 
the differences are explained below
2007 2006
£m £m
proﬁt before tax on continuing operations 71 929
proﬁt before tax at 30 2006 30 21 279
effects of
expenses income not subject to tax 110 129
difference in overseas tax rates 11 05
restatement of deferred tax from 30 to 28 34 – 
adjustments relating to prior years 03 14
utilisation of previously unrecognised tax losses 49 215
deferred tax movement on fair valued assets 06 170
tax charge credit in the income statement on continuing operations 124 216
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 57 6 taxation continued
tax on items included in equity
2007 2006
£m £m
current tax credit charge on exchange movements offset in reserves 46 217
restatement of deferred tax on pensions from 30 to 28 24 – 
deferred tax charge on actuarial gain on deﬁned beneﬁt pension scheme 74 174
total tax in equity 04 391
there was no tax charge on the income from joint ventures and associates included in discontinued operations 2006 £02m credit
the announced reduction in the headline uk corporation tax rate from 30 to 28 has resulted in a one off increase in the current year tax
charge of £34m as the groups uk deferred tax asset is restated based on the reduced rate an offsetting £24m credit has been recognised
directly in equity in accordance with ias 12
7 discontinued operations and disposal groups held for sale
the group completed the sale of hard rock on 5 march 2007 resulting in an exceptional proﬁt of £3527m before related ﬁnancing and
taxation costs of £373m the results revenue and costs are recorded in a single line on a posttax basis in the income statement a breakdown
of the results of discontinued operations is shown below
2007 2006
deluxe
hard hard us media deluxe
rock rock holidays services film total
£m £m £m £m £m £m
revenue 356 2712 280 1631 262 4885
operating proﬁt loss before exceptional items 21 404 21 139 15 301
exceptional items see note 4 3527 – 200 – – 200
operating proﬁt loss 3548 404 179 139 15 101
share of posttaxation loss income from joint ventures and associates 03 13 – – 01 12
net ﬁnancing charge including exceptional items 100 26 – 09 – 35
proﬁt loss before taxation 3445 365 179 148 16 54
taxation including exceptional items 277 04 37 53 29 09
net proﬁt loss 3168 369 216 95 13 45
other segment information
depreciation and amortisation – 127 07 – – 134
capital expenditure 14 77 18 14 26 135
cash ﬂows relating to the discontinued operations are as follows
2007 2006
deluxe
hard hard us media deluxe
rock rock holidays services film total
£m £m £m £m £m £m
cash ﬂows from operating activities 03 450 30 530 185 75
cash ﬂows from investing activities 14 175 18 01 26 218
cash ﬂows from ﬁnancing activities 01 44 01 92 01 138
18 231 49 621 158 281
58 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 7 discontinued operations and disposal groups held for sale continued
assets and liabilities relating to the disposal group held for sale are as follows
2006
hard rock
£m
intangible assets 66
property plant and equipment 1052
financial assets – investments 522
inventories 130
receivables 650
assets held for sale 2420
loan and capital borrowings 52
payables due within one year 337
provisions 46
payables greater than one year – reclassiﬁed as current 10
liabilities held for sale 445
at 31 december 2006 the fair value less costs to sell of hard rock exceeded the carrying amount immediately before classiﬁcation as a disposal
group the carrying amounts of all the assets and liabilities were measured in accordance with applicable ifrs following classiﬁcation as held for
sale assets are not depreciated this had the effect to increase hard rock 2007 operating proﬁt by £20m and reduce the proﬁt arising on sale
of hard rock by £20m
8 results attributable to the parent company
the loss for the ﬁnancial year in the ﬁnancial statements of the rank group plc was £188m 2006 £252m as permitted by s230 companies
act 1985 no income statement is presented in respect of the rank group plc
9 dividends
2007 2006
£m £m
equity – ordinary 
final for 2006 paid on 11 may 2007 – 40p 2005 103p per share 156 626
special for 2007 paid on 9 april 2007 – 650p 2006 nil per share 3525 –
interim for 2007 paid on 12 october 2007 – 20p 2006 20p per share 78 115
3759 741
following the sale of hard rock a special dividend of 650 pence per share was paid on 9 april 2007
the directors have not proposed a ﬁnal dividend in respect of the year ended 31 december 2007 2006 – 40p
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 59 10 earnings loss per share
a basic earnings per share
basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the proﬁt or loss attributable to equity shareholders by the weighted average number of
ordinary shares in issue during the year excluding ordinary shares purchased by the company and held as treasury shares note 25
2007 2006 restated
before before
exceptional exceptional exceptional exceptional
items items total items items total
proﬁt loss attributable to equity shareholders £m
continuing operations £316m £369m £53m £493m £652m £1145m
discontinued operations £14m £3154m £3168m £197m £170m £27m
total £330m £2785m £3115m £690m £482m £1172m
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue m 4304m 4304m 4304m 5875m 5875m 5875m
basic earnings loss per share p
continuing operations 73p 85p 12p 84p 111p 195p
discontinued operations 04p 732p 736p 34p 30p 04p
total 77p 647p 724p 118p 81p 199p
b diluted earnings per share
diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue to assume conversion of all
dilutive potential ordinary shares the group has two categories of dilutive potential ordinary shares share options and convertible debt 
for share options a calculation is made to determine the number of shares that could have been acquired at fair value determined as the
average annual market share price of the company’s shares based on the monetary value of the subscriptions rights attached to outstanding
share options the number of shares calculated is compared with the number of shares that would have been issued assuming exercise of the
share options the convertible debt was not dilutive in either year
there is no difference in the proﬁt loss used to determine diluted earnings per share from that used to determine basic earnings per share above 
2007 2006 restated
before before
exceptional exceptional exceptional exceptional
items items total items items total
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue m 4304m 4304m 4304m 5875m 5875m 5875m
adjustment for share options m ––– 05m 05m 05m
weighted average number of ordinary 
shares for diluted earnings per share m 4304m 4304m 4304m 5880m 5880m 5880m
diluted earnings loss per share p
continuing operations 73p 85p 12p 84p 111p 195p
discontinued operations 04p 732p 736p 34p 30p 04p
total 77p 647p 724p 118p 81p 199p
c adjusted earnings per share
adjusted earnings is calculated by adjusting proﬁt attributable to equity shareholders to exclude discontinued operations exceptional items
other ﬁnancial gains losses the net return on the deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset unwinding of the discount in disposal provisions amortisation
of the equity component of the convertible bond and the related tax effects adjusted earnings is one of the business performance measures
used internally by management to manage the operations of the business management believes that adjusted earnings assists in providing a
view of the underlying performance of the business 
adjusted net earnings attributable to equity shareholders is derived as follows
2007 2006
restated
£m £m
proﬁt attributable to equity shareholders 3115 1172
discontinued operations net of taxation and minority interest 3168 27
exceptional items before tax on continuing operations 452 390
other ﬁnancials gains losses 05 100
net return on deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset 105 67
amortisation of equity component of convertible bond 36 30
unwinding of discount in disposal provisions 13 –
taxation on adjusted items and impact of reduction in tax rate to 28 18 350
adjusted net earnings attributable to equity shareholders 320 268
weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue m 4304m 5875m
adjusted earnings per share p 74p 46p
60 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 11 intangible assets
casino
blue and other
square gaming
goodwill licences other total
group £m £m £m £m
cost
at 1 january 2006 as published 538 1142 281 1961
prior year restatement – 139 – 139
at 1 january 2006 restated 538 1281 281 2100
exchange adjustments – 04 10 14
additions – – 40 40
disposals – – 07 07
businesses disposed – 166 01 167
fair value adjustments – 04 01 05
classiﬁed as held for sale – – 70 70
at 31 december 2006 restated 538 1107 232 1877
exchange adjustments – 29 – 29
additions – 23 42 65
at 31 december 2007 538 1159 274 1971
aggregate amortisation and impairment
at 1 january 2006 – – 179 179
exchange adjustments – – 09 09
charge for the period – – 38 38
impairment losses – – 05 05
disposals – – 05 05
classiﬁed as held for sale – – 63 63
at 31 december 2006 – – 145 145
charge for the period – – 36 36
at 31 december 2007 – – 181 181
net book value at 31 december 2006 as published 538 968 87 1593
net book value at 31 december 2006 restated 538 1107 87 1732
net book value at 31 december 2007 538 1159 93 1790
other intangible assets comprise other licences computer software and development technology and customer lists these include internally generated
computer software and development technology with a net book value of £13m 2006 £15m
indeﬁnite life intangible assets have been reviewed for impairment as set out in note 13
 the 2006 comparatives have been restated to reﬂect the transfer of £139m of assets from property plant and equipment to intangible assets as if it had taken place on 1 january 2006
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 61 12 property plant and equipment 
fixtures
ﬁttings
land and plant  assets in
buildings machinery construction total
group £m £m £m £m
cost
at 1 january 2006 as published 4730 3962 20 8712
prior year restatement – 139 – 139
at 1 january 2006 restated 4730 3823 20 8573
exchange adjustments 171 143 03 317
reclassiﬁcation 10 03 07 – 
additions at cost 70 471 12 553
disposals 1625 287 – 1912
property plant and equipment write off 60 08 – 68
classiﬁed as held for sale 1263 897 09 2169
businesses disposed 245 278 13 536
at 31 december 2006 restated 1446 2678 – 4124
exchange adjustments 08 32 – 40 
additions at cost 55 379 – 434 
disposals 124 116 – 240
at 31 december 2007 1385 2973 – 4358 
accumulated depreciation
at 1 january 2006 1483 2420 – 3903
exchange adjustments 85 98 – 183
reclassiﬁcation 11 11 – – 
charge for the year 109 277 – 386
impairment losses 33 60 – 93
property plant and equipment write off 60 08 – 68
businesses disposed 185 243 – 428
disposals 262 238 – 500
classiﬁed as held for sale 567 550 – 1117
at 31 december 2006 477 1609 – 2086
exchange adjustments 01 15 – 16 
reclassiﬁcation 02 02 – – 
charge for the year 38 211 – 249 
impairment losses see note 13 151 188 – 339 
disposals 26 98 – 124
at 31 december 2007 643 1923 – 2566
net book value at 31 december 2006 as published 969 1208 – 2177
net book value at 31 december 2006 restated 969 1069 – 2038
net book value at 31 december 2007 742 1050 – 1792
 the 2006 comparatives have been restated to reﬂect the transfer of £139m of assets from property plant and equipment to intangible assets as if it had taken place on 1 january 2006
assets held under ﬁnance leases capitalised and included in land and buildings and ﬁxtures ﬁttings plant and machinery
2007 2006
£m £m
cost 205 206
accumulated depreciation 109 96
net book value 96 110
the book amounts for ﬁxtures ﬁttings plant and machinery include assets held under ﬁnance leases with a net book value of £02m 2006
£03m the book amounts for land and buildings include buildings held under ﬁnance leases with a net book value of £94m 2006 £107m
the net book value of land and buildings comprises
2007 2006
£m £m
freeholds 246 418
long leases over 50 years unexpired 34 16
short leases 462 535
net book value 742 969
62 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 13 impairment review
impairment review of intangible assets with indeﬁnite lives
as stated in the accounting policies note sections k and l assets that have an indeﬁnite useful life are not subject to amortisation and are tested annually
for impairment the group classiﬁes goodwill and casino and other gaming licences as indeﬁnite life assets
a goodwill
blue square
the group has goodwill with a carrying value of £538m in respect of the acquisition of blue square 2006 £538m as at 31 december 2007
management does not believe that the carrying value of the blue square goodwill was impaired as the value in use signiﬁcantly exceeded the carrying
value of goodwill
the whole of blue square is treated as a single cashgenerating unit and is tested for impairment on that basis the recoverable amount of the goodwill 
has been determined based on a value in use calculation using cash ﬂow projections based on ﬁnancial budgets approved by the board for the next
ﬁnancial year along with projections for the following two years from the group’s business plan which was also approved by the board a 2 growth 
rate was applied thereafter the pretax discount rate applied to the cash ﬂow projections is 94 2006 113
key assumptions used in value in use calculations
the calculation of value in use for blue square is most sensitive to the following assumptions
– settled stakes
– gross win margins and
– discount rates
settled stakes are based on monies placed by customers for the sportsbook and gaming businesses management takes into account the product mix
major sporting events and industry developments when determining settled stakes 
gross win margins are based on values achieved in the past and amended for any anticipated changes in the budget period 
discount rates reﬂect management’s estimate of the group’s pretax weighted average cost of capital management believes that the group’s weighted
average cost of capital is an appropriate measure as there is no funding directly attributable to that group of assets
sensitivity to changes in assumptions
with regard to the assessment of value in use of blue square there are possible changes in key assumptions that could cause the carrying value of the 
unit to exceed its recoverable amount these are discussed below
– settled stakes may be affected by a decrease in customers a decrease in marketing spend a change in technology competition or regulatory changes
and
– gross win margins may be affected by the results of sporting events odds setting or by changes in legislation to the gaming industry
changes in either key assumption impacts gross win which is calculated by applying the win margin to stakes placed if gross win were to decrease by 
in excess of 65 each year the value in use would equal the carrying value of the cashgenerating unit
b casino and other gaming licences
grosvenor casinos
the inherent value of casino licences is deemed to be an intrinsic part of the value of the operation of casinos as a whole and is not therefore split out 
from total casino assets in an impairment review the cost of casino licences as at 31 december 2007 was £922m 2006 restated £885m and
management does not believe that there is any impairment
each grosvenor casino has been treated as a separate cashgenerating unit and tested for impairment on that basis the recoverable amount of each
grosvenor casino including the licence has been determined based on the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use value in use has been
calculated using cash ﬂow projections based on ﬁnancial budgets approved by the board for the next ﬁnancial year along with projections for the
following two years from the group’s business plan which was also approved by the board a long term growth rate of 2 was applied thereafter 
the pretax discount rate applied to cash ﬂow projections is 94 2006 113
any impairment is allocated equally across all assets in a cashgenerating unit unless a fair market value exists for one or more assets once an asset has
been written down to its fair value less costs to sell then any remaining impairment is allocated equally amongst all other assets casino and other 
gaming licences are generally not impaired as they have an indeﬁnite life and a fair market value in excess of their carrying value 
key assumptions used in value in use calculations
the calculation of the value in use of a casino licence is most sensitive to the following assumptions
– admissions
– spend per head
– rate of casino duty
– discount rate and
– competition
admissions are the number of discrete visits by members to the casino and have been based on historic trends adjusted for the introduction of advertising 
spend per head comprises the average amount of money net of winnings spent by a member on gaming tables machines and food and beverages 
this has been determined by historic trends
casino duty is levied in bands of between 15 and 50 depending upon the level of gaming win at each casino the bands and rates have been
assumed to remain at current levels without indexation
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 63 13 impairment review continued
discount rate reﬂects management’s estimate of the group’s pretax weighted average cost of capital management believes that the group’s weighted
average cost of capital is an appropriate measure as there is no funding directly attributable to that group of assets
competition comprises other casinos located in the same geographic area the impact of this has been assessed by individual location
sensitivity to changes in assumptions
with regard to the assessment of value in use of casino licences there are possible changes in key assumptions that could cause the carrying value of
individual licences to exceed their recoverable amount these are discussed below
– competition from licences granted under the gambling act 2005 and 1968 gaming act could vary depending upon the number and location of 
new casinos as well as the date of opening
– admission levels could vary as a result of general economic conditions and the impact of advertising and membership reward programmes and
– spend per head may be impacted by the number of new members changes in gaming legislation and macro economic conditions
management does not believe that there are any reasonably possible changes to the key assumptions that would result in a material impairment of 
a casino licence
c spanish bingo licences
the inherent value of spanish bingo licences are deemed to be an intrinsic part of the value of the operations as a whole and not therefore split out from
spanish bingo assets in an impairment review the cost of spanish bingo licences as at 31 december 2007 was £237m 2006 £222m each individual
bingo club has been created as a separate cashgenerating unit and tested for impairment on that basis the recoverable amount has been determined
based on a value in use calculation using cash ﬂow projections based on ﬁnancial budgets approved by the board for the next ﬁnancial year along with
projections for the following two years from the group’s business plan which was also approved by the board a long term growth rate of 3 was applied
thereafter the discount rate was the group’s pretax weighted average cost of capital which is consistent with other value in use calculations
impairment review of property plant and equipment
as stated in the accounting policies note section l if the carrying value of the group’s property plant and equipment is higher than the estimated
recoverable amount the value of those assets is written down property plant and equipment and intangible assets are grouped into cashgenerating 
units which are deﬁned as individual clubs for mecca bingo top rank españa and grosvenor casinos and the whole of the operation for blue square 
the key assumptions and sensitivities in the impairment reviews for casino assets and other gaming licences are set out above
recoverable amount is determined based on the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use which is calculated using cash ﬂow projections based
on ﬁnancial budgets approved by the board for the next ﬁnancial year along with projections for the following two years from the group’s business plan
which was also approved by the board a long term growth rate of 2 was applied thereafter to mecca bingo grosvenor casinos blue square and 3 
to top rank españa 
any impairment is allocated equally across all assets in a cashgenerating unit unless a fair market value exists for one or more assets once an asset has 
been written down to its fair value less costs to sell then any remaining impairment is allocated equally amongst all other assets 
the key assumption in the impairment review for mecca bingo is the continued impact of the smoking ban implemented in england and wales in 2007 and
the loss of section 21 gaming terminals management believes that the introduction of a smoking ban has resulted in a step change reduction in admissions
and income levels revenues are not expected to return to pre ban levels in the short term and it is assumed that income will grow at the long term trend
rates detailed above the cash ﬂows generated by each club are driven by a large number of factors including competition economic conditions ability to
generate new players and retain existing players in the event that income levels reduce at individual clubs beyond expectations then further impairments
may be required
2007
mecca bingo
in 2007 an impairment charge of £257m has been recognised in respect of a number of clubs where the estimated cash ﬂows associated with those clubs
were less than the carrying value of the property plant and equipment the impact from the smoking bans in the uk and the loss of section 21 gaming
terminals has been more severe than management had anticipated as a consequence in certain clubs it has also been necessary to make onerous lease
provisions amounting to £191m
grosvenor casinos
in 2007 an impairment charge of £82m has been recognised in respect of a limited number of casinos where the effects of the smoking ban increased
competition and changes in casino duty levels has resulted in estimated cash ﬂows that are lower than the carrying value of property plant and equipment
an onerous lease provision of £17m has also been made
2006
mecca bingo
in 2006 an impairment charge of £86m was recognised in respect of a number of clubs where the estimated cash ﬂows associated with those clubs were
less than the carrying value of the property plant and equipment
blue square
the operations of the blue square betting shop were disposed on 24 august 2006 prior to the disposal its intangible assets and property plant and
equipment were impaired by £12m
64 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 14 investments
group company
2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m
investments in subsidiaries – – 13436 13436
financial assets – availableforsale investments 01 05 – –
total investments 01 05 13436 13436
availableforsale ﬁnancial assets comprise £01m 2006 £05m in respect of uk listed equity investments which by their nature have no ﬁxed
maturity date or coupon rate
the fair value of the listed equity shares has been estimated using valuation guidelines based on market prices a fair value loss of £04m has
been recognised in equity 2006 £nil
investments in subsidiaries company
a list of the signiﬁcant investments in subsidiaries including the name country of incorporation and proportion of ownership interest is given in note 40
investments in subsidiaries are carried at cost of £15156m 2006 £15156m less provision for impairment of £1720m 2006 £1720m
15 deferred tax
the analysis of deferred tax included in the ﬁnancial statements at the end of the year is as follows
group
2007 2006
£m £m
deferred tax assets
accelerated capital allowances 380 325
tax losses carried forward 242 101
deferred tax assets 622 426
deferred tax liabilities
pensions 291 106
other overseas timing differences 78 78
business combinations – nonqualifying properties 25 33
other uk timing differences 168 189
deferred tax liabilities 562 406
net deferred tax asset 60 20
deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current taxation assets and current tax liabilities and it is the
intention to settle these on a net basis deferred tax assets and liabilities of £483m 2006 £329m have been offset and disclosed on the balance sheet 
as follows
2007 2006
£m £m
deferred tax asset 135 97
deferred tax liability 75 77
net deferred tax asset 60 20
the deferred tax assets recognised are recoverable against future taxable proﬁts that the directors consider more likely than not to occur on the basis 
of management forecasts
there are no unrecognised deferred tax assets at 31 december 2007 2006 £604m
temporary differences associated with group investments
at 31 december 2007 there was no recognised deferred tax liability 2006 £nil for taxes that would be payable on the unremitted earnings of certain 
of the group’s subsidiaries as 
– the group has determined that undistributed proﬁts of its subsidiaries will not be distributed in the foreseeable future
– the parent company does not foresee giving such consent at the balance sheet date and
– there are no income tax consequences attaching to the payment of dividends by the group to its shareholders
the company has a deferred tax asset of £nil 2006 £02m
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 65 15 deferred tax continued
the deferred tax included in the group income statement is as follows
group
2007 2006
£m £m
deferred tax in the income statement
accelerated capital allowances 55 141
deferred tax movement on fair valued assets 06 119
tax losses 148 16
other timing differences 104 129
total deferred tax expense credit 191 115
deferred tax expense on discontinued operations 323 35
deferred tax credit on continuing operations 132 150
total deferred tax expense credit 191 115
deferred tax on discontinued operations includes deferred tax charges on tax losses of £323m 2006 credit of £50m other timing differences
of £nil 2006 charge of £87m and on accelerated capital allowances of £nil 2006 credit of £02m
the above numbers are shown net of the deferred tax charge of £34m resulting from the reduction in the headline uk corporation tax rate
from 30 to 28
the deferred tax movement on the balance sheet is as follows
2007 2006
£m £m
net deferred tax asset at 1 january 20 625
exchange adjustments 08 66
deferred tax expense credit 191 115
deferred tax on items included in equity 50 212
businesses disposed – 06
classiﬁed from as held for sale 289 436
net deferred tax asset at 31 december 60 20
16 inventories
group
2007 2006
£m £m
raw materials 03 05
finished goods 31 38
34 43
the group wrote down £nil 2006 £nil of inventories
17 trade and other receivables
group company
2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m
current
trade receivables 18 208 – –
less provisions for impairment of trade receivables 09 10 – –
trade receivables – net 09 198 – –
other receivables 127 174 – 06
prepayments and accrued income 163 195 – –
amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings repayable on demand – – 436 437
299 567 436 443
noncurrent
other receivables 15 84 – –
15 84 – –
66 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 17 trade and other receivables continued
the carrying values of trade receivables are assumed to approximate to their fair values due to the short term nature of trade receivables
as of 31 december 2007 trade receivables of £09m 2006 £10m were impaired the amount of the provision was £09m 2006 £10m the ageing 
of these receivables is as follows
2007 2006
£m £m
up to 3 months – –
3 to 6 months – –
over 6 months 09 10
09 10
as of 31 december 2007 trade receivables of £03m 2006 £39m were past due but not impaired the ageing of these trade receivables is as follows
2007 2006
£m £m
up to 3 months 02 36
3 to 6 months – 03
over 6 months 01 –
03 39
the carrying amounts of the group’s trade receivables are denominated in the following currencies
2007 2006
£m £m
uk sterling 08 17
euro 01 –
us dollar – 181
09 198
the movements on the group provision for impairment of trade receivables are as follows
2007 2006
£m £m
at 1 january 10 02
provision for receivables impairment 03 08
receivables written off during the year as uncollectible 04 –
at 31 december 09 10
the creation and release of provision for impaired receivables have been included in other operating costs in the income statement 
amounts charged to the allowance account are generally written off when there is no expectation of recovering additional cash
the other classes within trade and other receivables do not contain impaired assets
the maximum exposure to credit risk at the reporting date is the fair value of each class of receivable mentioned above the group does 
not hold any collateral as security
18 trade and other payables – current
group company
2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m
trade payables 179 280 – –
other tax and social security payable 83 95 – –
other payables 548 545 – –
accruals 172 301 20 18
deferred consideration 30 01––
pension fund creditor see note 34 26 30 – –
amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings repayable on demand – – 5232 1315
1038 1252 5252 1333
19 current tax liabilities
group
2007 2006
£m £m
corporation tax payable 54 23
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 67 20 financial liabilities 
financial liabilities comprise the following
group company
2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m
bank overdrafts 35 82 – –
derivative ﬁnancial instruments see note 22 25 42 – –
us100m  6375 yankee bonds 2008 498 495 – –
us143m  7125 yankee bonds 2018 72 73 – –
£1677m  3875 convertible unsecured loan stock 2009 
net of unamortised facility fees and equity component 1631 1587 1631 1587
multi currency syndicated loan facilities 1500 2824 – –
other including accrued interest and unamortised facility fees 35 15 29 27
obligations under ﬁnance leases 146 167 – –
financial guarantees – – 13 11
3942 5255 1673 1625
bank overdrafts 35 82 – –
other borrowings repayable
within one year or on demand 597 52 42 38
between one and two years 1639 2925 1631 –
between two and ﬁve years 1499 2010 – 1587
in ﬁve years or more 172 186 – –
3942 5255 1673 1625
current 632 134 42 38
noncurrent 3310 5121 1631 1587
3942 5255 1673 1625
unsecured convertible bond 1631 1587 1631 1587
other unsecured borrowings 2165 3501 29 27
obligations under ﬁnance leases secured see note 35 146 167 – –
financial guarantees – – 13 11
3942 5255 1673 1625
undrawn borrowing facilities
at 31 december 2007 the group had undrawn committed borrowing facilities available of £2500m 2006 £3676m in respect of which all
conditions precedent had been met at that date these facilities expire in 2012 and pay interest at ﬂoating rates
the analysis of other borrowings repayable includes £1631m of convertible bonds 2006 £1587m the bond is due in 2009 and is convertible
at the option of the holder into fully paid ordinary shares at £35167 2006 £3764 per share interest is paid half yearly in january and july
the effective interest rate on the liability portion of the bond is 42 none of the bonds were converted during the year if the conversion
rights attached to the bonds outstanding at 31 december 2007 were exercised 477m ordinary shares would fall to be issued 2006 446m
unless previously redeemed or converted the bonds will be redeemed at par in 2009
included in other borrowings repayable are the drawings of £1500m on the syndicated bank facility 2006 £2824m the facility was negotiated
on 14 april 2007 and consists of a £1500m term loan and a £2500m revolving credit facility both the term loan and the revolving credit facility
expire in april 2012 interest is payable on a monthly basis all amounts outstanding at 31 december 2007 were drawn in uk sterling
also included in other borrowings is 1143m £570m 2006 1143m £568m of yankee bonds of which 1000m matured in january
2008 and 143m matures in 2018 interest is payable half yearly in january and july
the analysis of other borrowings repayable above includes obligations under ﬁnance leases of which £09m 2006 £17m expire within one
year £07m 2006 £08m expire between one and two years £25m 2006 £26m expire between two and ﬁve years and £105m 2006
£116m expire after ﬁve years
the funding policy of the group is to maintain a broad portfolio of debt diversiﬁed by source and maturity and to maintain committed facilities
sufﬁcient to cover seasonal peak anticipated borrowing requirements
the exposure of the group’s borrowings to interest rate changes and to contractual repricing dates at the balance sheet date are as follows
2007 2006
£m £m
six months or less 1535 2906
68 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 20 financial liabilities continued
the carrying amounts and fair value of noncurrent borrowings are as follows
net carrying amount fair value
2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m
short term ﬁnancial liabilities and current portion of long term borrowings 607 108 607 108
derivative ﬁnancial instrument liabilities 25 26 25 26
current 632 134 632 134
bank borrowings 1500 2824 1500 2824
us dollar bonds 72 568 72 584
convertible bond 1631 1587 1677 1677
finance leases 146 150 146 150
other 39 08 39 08
noncurrent 3310 5121 3356 5227
the fair value of the current borrowings equals their carrying amount the current borrowings matured in january 2008 and therefore the impact of
discounting is not considered signiﬁcant
the fair value of the guarantees issued by the company is £13m 2006 £11m this is calculated by applying the company’s probability of default derived
from the company’s credit rating to the 31 december 2007 drawn debt of subsidiaries guaranteed by the company
21 financial risk management
financial risk factors
the group’s activities expose it to a variety of ﬁnancial risks market risk including currency risk fair value interest rate risk cash ﬂow interest rate risk and
price risk credit risk and liquidity risk the group’s overall risk management programme focuses on the unpredictability of ﬁnancial markets and seeks to
minimise potential adverse effects on the group’s ﬁnancial performance the group uses derivative ﬁnancial instruments to hedge certain risk exposures
risk management is carried out by a central treasury department group treasury under policies approved by the board of directors group treasury
identiﬁes evaluates and hedges ﬁnancial risks in close cooperation with the group’s operating units the board provides written principles for overall risk
management as well as written policies covering speciﬁc areas such as foreign exchange risk interest rate risk credit risk use of derivative ﬁnancial
instruments and nonderivative ﬁnancial instruments and investment of excess liquidity
a market risk
i foreign exchange risk
the group operates internationally and is exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from various currency exposures primarily with respect to the euro 
and the us dollar foreign exchange risk arises from recognised assets and liabilities and net investments in foreign operations
the group has certain investments in foreign operations whose net assets are exposed to foreign currency translation risk currency exposure arising from
the net assets of the group’s foreign operations is managed primarily through the matching of borrowings to assets and by the purchase of derivatives
denominated in the relevant foreign currencies group policy is to hedge 90 of identiﬁed exposures
at 31 december 2007 if the us dollar had weakenedstrengthened by 47 against uk sterling with all other variables held constant posttax proﬁt for 
the year would have been £23m higher£26m lower 2006 £204m higher£185m lower mainly as a result of foreign exchange gainslosses on
translation of us dollar denominated borrowings included in the £204m£185m movements in 2006 is £171m higher£155m lower relating to the
currency option contracted in december 2006 to hedge the proceeds from the sale of hard rock proﬁt is less sensitive to movement in us dollar exchange
rates in 2008 than 2007 because of the decreased amount of us dollar denominated borrowings the majority of us dollar denominated borrowings
matured in january 2008 equity would have been unchanged 2006 £nil higherlower arising mainly from foreign exchange lossesgains on translation 
of us dollar denominated debt and net investment hedges 
at 31 december 2007 if the euro had weakenedstrengthened by 22 against uk sterling with all other variables held constant posttax proﬁt for 
the year would have been £05m 2006 £20m lowerhigher mainly as a result of foreign exchange gainslosses on translation of euro denominated
borrowings equity would have been £15m higherlower 2006 £15m higherlower arising mainly from foreign exchange lossesgains on translation 
of quasi equity hedges 
ii cash ﬂow and fair value interest rate risk
as the group has no signiﬁcant interest bearing assets the group’s income and operating cash ﬂows are substantially independent of changes in market
interest rates its only interest bearing assets are cash and cash equivalents which earn ﬂoating rate interest
the group’s interest rate risk arises from longterm borrowings borrowings issued at variable rates expose the group to cash ﬂow interest rate risk 
borrowings issued at ﬁxed rates expose the group to fair value interest rate risk group policy is to maintain approximately 60 of its borrowings in ﬁxed 
rate instruments using interest rate swaps to achieve this when necessary at 31 december 2007 45 of the group’s debt was held in ﬁxed rate borrowings
2006 52
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 69 21 financial risk management continued
during 2007 and 2006 the group’s borrowings at variable rate were denominated in us dollar and uk sterling
the group analyses its interest rate exposure on a dynamic basis various scenarios are simulated taking into consideration reﬁnancing renewal of existing
positions alternative ﬁnancing and hedging based on these scenarios the group calculates the impact on proﬁt and loss of a deﬁned interest rate shift 
for each simulation the same interest rate shift is used for all currencies the scenarios are run only for liabilities that represent the major interest bearing
positions based on the simulations performed the impact on proﬁt or loss of a 60 basis–point shift would be a maximum increase of £09m 2006 £10m
or decrease of £09m 2006 £10m respectively 
based on the various scenarios the group manages its cash ﬂow interest rate risk by using ﬂoatingtoﬁxed interest rate swaps such interest rate swaps have
the economic effect of converting borrowings from ﬂoating rates to ﬁxed rates generally the group raises longterm borrowings at ﬂoating rates and swaps
them into ﬁxed rates that are lower than those available if the group borrowed at ﬁxed rates directly under the interest rate swaps the group agrees with
other parties to exchange at speciﬁed intervals primarily half yearly the difference between ﬁxed contract rates and ﬂoatingrate interest amounts
calculated by reference to the agreed notional amounts
occasionally the group also enters into ﬁxedtoﬂoating interest rate swaps to hedge the fair value interest rate risk arising where it has borrowed at ﬁxed
rates in excess of the 60 target
b credit risk
credit risk is managed on a group basis credit risk arises from cash and cash equivalents derivative ﬁnancial instruments and deposits with banks and
ﬁnancial institutions as well as credit exposures on outstanding receivables 
the group only deals with banks and ﬁnancial institutions with which they have a lending or advisory relationship the creditworthiness of each counterparty
is checked against independent credit ratings with a minimum rating of ‘a’ accepted an internal rating is then allocated and an individual credit limit is set in
accordance with limits set by the board management reviews the ratings and the utilisation of credit limits on a regular basis
sales to retail customers are settled in cash or using major credit cards
no credit limits were exceeded during the reporting period and management does not expect any losses from nonperformance of its counterparties
cash derivatives total
2007 £m £m £m
aa 396 06 402
a 176 – 176
cash ﬂoats 149 – 149
cash cash equivalents and derivative assets 721 06 727
cash derivatives total
2006 £m £m £m
aa 493 95 588
a 186 – 186
cash ﬂoats 157 – 157
cash cash equivalents and derivative assets 836 95 931
the counterparties to the forward foreign exchange contracts cross currency swaps currency option and term deposits are major international
ﬁnancial institutions with strong credit ratings the group continually monitors its positions and the credit ratings of its counterparties 
the group is exposed to £74m 2006 £1558m of credit risk on derivative fair value assets and £730m 2006 £1034m on trade receivables
and cash should the counterparty default
c liquidity risk
liquidity risk is the risk that the group will not have sufﬁcient funds to meet its liabilities cash forecasts identifying the liquidity requirements of
the group are produced regularly the cash forecasts are sensitivity tested for different scenarios and are reviewed regularly to ensure sufﬁcient
ﬁnancial headroom exists for at least a 12 month period 
due to the dynamic nature of the underlying businesses group treasury aims to maintain ﬂexibility in funding by keeping committed credit
lines available a four year strategic forecast is prepared annually to facilitate planning for future ﬁnancing needs management actively manages 
its ﬁnancing requirements and the range of maturities on its debt the group has committed ﬁnancing facilities until 2012 of which £2500m
2006 £3676m was undrawn at 31 december 2007
the funding policy of the group is to maintain as far as practicable a broad portfolio of debt diversiﬁed by source and maturity and to
maintain committed facilities sufﬁcient to cover seasonal peak anticipated borrowing requirements
70 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 21 financial risk management continued
the table below analyses the group’s ﬁnancial liabilities which will be settled on a net basis into relevant maturity groupings based on the remaining period
at the balance sheet to the contractual maturity date the amounts disclosed in the table are the contractual undiscounted cash ﬂows 
less than between 1 between 2 over 5 
1 year and 2 years and 5 years years
at 31 december 2007 £m £m £m £m
borrowings 632 1721 1540 202
derivative ﬁnancial instruments – net settled 1268–––
derivative ﬁnancial instruments – gross settled 397–––
trade and other payables 1038 05 – –
3335 1726 1540 202
at 31 december 2006 £m £m £m £m
borrowings 112 2943 2137 213
derivative ﬁnancial instruments – net settled 2324–––
derivative ﬁnancial instruments – gross settled 35–––
trade and other payables 1252 14 – –
3723 2957 2137 213
capital risk management
the group’s objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the group’s ability to continue as a going concern in order to provide returns for
shareholders and beneﬁts for other stakeholders and to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the cost of capital
in order to maintain or adjust the capital structure the group may adjust the amount of dividends paid to shareholders return capital to shareholders 
issue new shares or sell assets to reduce debt
consistent with others in the industry the group monitors capital on the basis of its leverage ratio this ratio is calculated as net debt divided by ebitda 
net debt is calculated as total borrowings including ‘borrowings’ as shown in the consolidated balance sheet less cash and cash equivalents less accrued
interest less unamortised facility fees and amounts relating to discontinued operations ebitda is calculated as operating proﬁt before exceptional items plus
depreciation and amortisation
during 2007 the group’s long term strategy which was unchanged from 2006 was to maintain a leverage ratio of 3540 times in order to
secure access to ﬁnance at a reasonable cost by maintaining a bb credit rating 
the leverage ratios at 31 december 2007 and 2006 were as follows
2007 2006
£m £m
total borrowings see note 20 3942 5255
less cash and cash equivalents 721 836
less derivatives 25 42
less accrued interest 65 07
less unamortised facility fees 38 50
less discontinued operations – 52
net debt 3169 4472
operating proﬁt from continuing operations before exceptionals 683 732
add operating proﬁt from discontinued operations before exceptionals 21 301
add depreciation and amortisation – continuing operations 285 289
add depreciation and amortisation – discontinued operations – 134
add reversal of proﬁt restatement due to change in accounting policies – 42
ebitda 989 1498
leverage ratio 32 30
the increase in the leverage ratio during 2007 resulted primarily from the repayment of debt following the sale of hard rock
fair value estimation
the fair value of ﬁnancial instruments traded in active markets such as availableforsale securities is based on quoted market prices at the balance sheet
date the quoted market price used for ﬁnancial assets held by the group is the current bid price
the fair value of ﬁnancial instruments that are not traded in an active market for example overthecounter derivatives is determined by using valuation
techniques the group uses a variety of methods and makes assumptions that are based on market conditions existing at each balance sheet date quoted
market prices or dealer quotes for similar instruments are used for longterm bonds other techniques such as estimated discounted cash ﬂows are used to
determine fair value for the remaining ﬁnancial instruments the fair value of interest rate swaps is calculated as the present value of the estimated future cash
ﬂows the fair value of forward foreign exchange contracts is determined using quoted forward exchange rates at the balance sheet date
the fair value of quoted borrowings is based on yearend midmarket quoted prices the fair values of other borrowings and the derivative ﬁnancial
instruments are estimated by discounting the future cash ﬂows to net present value using appropriate market rates prevailing at the yearend
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 71 22 financial instruments
a description of the policies relating to ﬁnancial instruments is set out in note 1g 
a fair values
the carrying value of derivative ﬁnancial assets at 31 december 2007 was £06m 2006 £95m and is considered to equal their fair value the impact 
of discounting is not considered signiﬁcant as the derivatives matured in january 2008
b financial derivative instruments
2007 2006
assets liabilities assets liabilities
£m £m £m £m
cross currency swap – intercompany loan hedge held for trading –– 43 25
cross currency swap – quasi equity hedge –– 18 –
cross currency swap – cash ﬂow hedge – 03 ––
interest rate swap – fair value hedge – 05 – 16
interest rate cap and collar held for trading –– 02 –
forward exchange contract – net investment hedge – 14 ––
forward exchange contract – intercompany loan hedge held for trading 04 – ––
forward exchange contract – cash ﬂow hedge 02 03 ––
forward foreign exchange contract held for trading –– 01 01
fair value of derivative used to hedge ﬂows from continuing operations 06 25 64 42
currency option – cash ﬂow hedge –– 31 –
total 06 25 95 42
less noncurrent portion –– – 16
current portion 06 25 95 26
there was no ineffectiveness to be recorded for the fair value net investment quasi equity or cash ﬂow hedges
the nominal values of derivative ﬁnancial instruments at 31 december 2007 were
2007 £m usm €m
cross currency swap – cash ﬂow hedge – 780 –
interest rate swap – fair value hedge – 1000 –
forward exchange contract – net investment hedge – – 950
forward exchange contract – intercompany loan hedge held for trading – – 280
forward exchange contract – cash ﬂow hedge – 750 –
2006 £m usm €m
cross currency swap – intercompany loan hedge held for trading – 1280 1380
cross currency swap – quasi equity hedge – – 980
interest rate swap – fair value hedge – 1000 –
interest rate cap and collar held for trading 500 – –
forward foreign exchange contract held for trading – 10 10
currency option – cash ﬂow hedge – 6750 –
c fair value hedge
the notional principal amount of the outstanding interest rate swap contracts at 31 december 2007 was us1000m 2006 us1000m these matured 
in january 2008 the interest rate swaps hedged the interest due on the 2008 yankee bonds
the gain on the fair value hedge instrument was £11m 2006 £08m the loss on the underlying 2008 yankee bond was £11m 2006 £08m
d cash ﬂow hedges
the group entered into a series of currency forwards and cross currency swaps to hedge the repayment of us dollar debt and interest due in january 2008
the nominal value of the derivatives at 31 december 2007 is 1030m 2006 nil with a fair value of £04m 2006 nil the cash ﬂows and proﬁt and loss
entries occurred in january 2008 on maturity of the 2008 yankee bonds
at 31 december 2006 the group entered into a currency option to hedge the receipt of the us dollar proceeds from the sale of hard rock which completed
in march 2007 the nominal value of the option at 31 december 2006 was 6750m with a fair value of £31m due to the exchange rate prevailing at the
date of sale of hard rock being favourable to the option rate the option was not utilised the reversal of the fair value booked at 31 december 2006 is
included as an exceptional ﬁnancing cost within discontinued operations
72 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 22 financial instruments continued
e quasi equity hedges
the group has hedged the translation risk on its quasi equity intercompany loans using a series of cross currency swaps the nominal value 
of the swaps at 31 december 2007 was €nil 2006 €98m with a net fair value of £nil 2006 £18m
f derivatives held for trading
the retranslation of the intercompany loan balances across the group are hedged using a series of forward foreign exchange contracts and
cross currency swaps the nominal value of the swaps at 31 december 2007 was nil and €28m 2006 128m and €138m with a net fair
value of £04m 2006 £18m the hedges matured in january 2008
there were £05m derivatives outstanding at the balance sheet date that were designated as fair value hedges 2006 £16m relating to
interest rate swaps these matured in january 2008
g net investment hedges 
a proportion of the group’s us dollar denominated borrowings amounting to nil 2006 4293m is designated as a hedge of the net
investment in the group’s us subsidiaries the foreign exchange proﬁt of £nil 2006 £10m on translation of the borrowing at the balance
sheet date is recognised in the exchange translation reserve in shareholders’ equity the group has hedged the translation risk on its euro
denominated assets using a series of forward foreign currency contracts the nominal value of the contracts at 31 december 2007 was €95m
2006 €nil with a net fair value of £14m 2006 £nil
23 other noncurrent liabilities 
group
2007 2006
£m £m
uk corporation tax and overseas taxation 315 315
deferred consideration 05 09
accruals – 05
320 329
the uk corporation tax and overseas taxation primarily relates to transfer pricing issues on discontinued operations in overseas jurisdictions and
tax planning that has been challenged by the relevant tax authority the liability represents management’s current estimate of the payments
that will be required to settle the various issues
24 provisions for other liabilities and charges
disposal provisions
onerous
leases deluxe hard rock other total
group £m £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 2007 72 463 – 06 541
charged to the income statement – exceptional 277 – 260 – 537
utilised in year 17 120 153 – 290
transferred – 06 – 06 –
unwinding of discount 03 13 – – 16
at 31 december 2007 335 362 107 – 804
current 39 61 104 – 204
noncurrent 296 301 03 – 600
total 335 362 107 – 804
the maturity proﬁle of provisions is as follows
2007 £m £m £m £m £m
within one year 39 61 104 – 204
between one and two years 30 36 03 – 69
between two and ﬁve years 60 130 – – 190
over ﬁve years 206 135 – – 341
total 335 362 107 – 804
2006 £m £m £m £m £m
within one year 16 105 – 06 127
between one and two years 12 358 – – 370
between two and ﬁve years 23––– 23
over ﬁve years 21––– 21
total 72 463 – 06 541
provisions have been discounted at a risk free interest rate of 5 where the effects of inﬂation will have a material impact
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 73 24 provisions for other liabilities and charges continued
onerous leases
the group is party to a number of leasehold property contracts provision has been made against those leases where the property is now vacant
and the unavoidable costs under the lease exceed the economic beneﬁt expected to be derived from potential subletting arrangements
provision has also been made against leases where impairment testing has indicated that after recognising an impairment charge the estimated
discounted cash ﬂows derived from the property and its associated operations are insufﬁcient to cover the unavoidable lease costs and the lease
is therefore deemed onerous these leases have an unexpired life of between 10 and 57 years
disposal provisions
the disposal provisions held at 31 december 2007 consist of the following
deluxe hard rock total
£m £m £m
onerous leases 246 – 246
other 116 107 223
at 31 december 2007 362 107 469
following the sale and closure of our deluxe operations two property leases have been retained in the group one of these relates to a signiﬁcant plant in
the us which is currently unoccupied the lease expires in 2021 and the provision has been calculated on the assumption that no sublease will be obtained
provision has also been made for outstanding insurance claims warranty provisions for potential claims and other directly attributable costs arising as a
consequence of the sale or closure of the businesses the timing of any insurance and warranty claims are uncertain and have therefore been included in 
the maturity analysis based on management’s best estimates
company
the legal provision held at 1 january 2007 of £06m was transferred to the deluxe disposal provision
25 share capital
2007 authorised 2006 authorised
nominal nominal
number value number value
m£m m£m
ordinary shares of 13 89p each 2006 10p each 12960 1800 18000 1800
2007 2006
issued and fully paid issued and fully paid
nominal nominal
number value number value
m£m m£m
at 1 january 5424 542 6260 626
share buyback –– 865 86
shares issued in the year –– 29 02
share consolidation 18 ordinary 13 89p each for 25 ordinary 10p each 1519 – ––
at 31 december 3905 542 5424 542
during the year 18324 ordinary shares of 10p each and 19674 ordinary shares of 13 89p were issued with a combined nominal value of £4565
1059826 2006 202852 ordinary shares in the company are held by the rank group employee beneﬁt trust ‘the trust’ these owned shares are
deducted from equity in accordance with ias 32 and not disclosed as an investment 
dividends on the shares held by the trust have been waived by the trustees with the exception of one penny in respect of each dividend that is paid by the
company the trust may make such investments in the shares of the company or otherwise as the trustees may determine to provide beneﬁts to any eligible
employee the beneﬁts may be provided in the form of shares cash or otherwise although any sharerelated beneﬁt will be provided in accordance with an
appropriate employee share scheme or bonus scheme of the company the shares held by the trust represent less than 03 of the company’s calledup
share capital the costs of funding and administering the scheme are charged to the income statement of the company in the period to which they relate
the market value of the shares at 31 december 2007 was £10m 2006 £05m
share consolidation
in conjunction with the special dividend payment disclosed in note 9 shareholders received 18 new rank shares for every 25 existing rank shares held on 
23 march 2007 apart from having a different nominal value each new rank share carries the same rights as are set out in the articles of association for 
each existing rank share prior to the share consolidation taking place
74 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 26 statement of changes in shareholders’ equity 
exchange
share share capital translation other
capital premium redemption reserve reserves total minority total
group £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 2006 626 931 248 238 476 1567 114 1681
exchange adjustments net of tax – – – 283 – 283 10 293
actuarial gain on deﬁned beneﬁt 
pension scheme net of tax –––– 647 647 – 647
revaluation of availableforsale securities –––– 228 228 – 228
revaluation of availableforsale securities 
recycled within net proﬁt –––– 121 121 – 121
net minority interest acquired –––––– 81 81
issue of share capital 02 50––– 52– 52
share buyback 86 – 86 – 2014 2014 – 2014
dividends –––– 741 741 41 782
credit in respect of employee share schemes –––– 04 04– 04
proﬁt for the year –––– 1172 1172 18 1190
at 31 december 2006 542 981 334 45 1059 753 – 753
exchange adjustments net of tax – – – 44 – 44 – 44
actuarial gain on deﬁned beneﬁt 
pension scheme net of tax –––– 174 174 – 174
cumulative foreign exchange losses recycled within
net proﬁt – – – 86 – 86 – 86
revaluation of availableforsale securities –––– 04 04 – 04
revaluation of availableforsale securities 
recycled within net proﬁt –––– 444 444 – 444
adjustment of deferred tax from 30 to 28 –––– 24 24– 24
issue of share capital – 01––– 01– 01
purchase of own shares –––– 21 21 – 21
dividends –––– 3759 3759 – 3759
debit in respect of employee share schemes –––– 14 14 – 14
proﬁt for the year –––– 3115 3115 – 3115
at 31 december 2007 542 982 334 03 1988 133 – 133
the reserves of subsidiary undertakings have generally been retained to ﬁnance their businesses 
other reserves comprise retained losses of £2021m 2006 £1576m fair value losses of £06m 2006 gains of £442m and the £39m 2006 £75m
unamortised element of the equity component of the convertible bond
share share capital other
capital premium redemption reserves total
company £m £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 2006 626 931 248 12067 13872
issue of share capital 02 50 – – 52
share buyback 86 – 86 2014 2014
dividends – – – 741 741
credit in respect of employee share schemes – – – 01 01
loss for the year – – – 252 252
at 31 december 2006 542 981 334 9061 10918
issue of share capital – 01 – – 01
purchase of own shares – – – 21 21
dividends – – – 3759 3759
debit in respect of employee share schemes – – – 01 01
loss for the year – – – 188 188
at 31 december 2007 542 982 334 5092 6950
other reserves comprise retained earnings of £3455m 2006 £7388m the £39m 2006 £75m unamortised element of the equity component of the
convertible bond and an unrealised proﬁt reserve of £1598m 2006 £1598m
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 75 27 minority interest 
2007 2006
£m £m
at 1 january – 114
exchange adjustments – 10
share of net proﬁt – 18
dividend paid – 41
minority interest acquired – 77
minority interest disposed – 04
at 31 december – –
as at 31 december 2007 there are no minority interests in the group
28 cash generated from operations
reconciliation of operating proﬁt to cash generated from operations
group company
2007 2006 2007 2006
restated
£m £m £m £m
continuing operations
operating proﬁt loss 231 1269 03 06
exceptional items 452 537 – –
operating proﬁt loss before exceptional items 683 732 03 06
depreciation and amortisation 285 289 – –
decrease increase in working capital 66 37 06 07
other 16 89 03 05
1018 1073 06 08
cash payments in respect of exceptional costs and provisions 158 370 – 04
cash generated from operations 860 703 06 12
29 cash and cash equivalents
group company
2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m
cash at bank and in hand 369 799 03 01
current asset investments 352 37 – –
total cash 721 836 03 01
the analysis of total cash by currency is as follows
uk sterling 644 618 03 01
uscanadian dollar 02 74 – –
other currencies 75 144 – –
total cash 721 836 03 01
the fair value of cash and current asset investments equals their carrying amount as the impact of discounting is not signiﬁcant
for the purpose of the cash ﬂow statements cash and cash equivalents comprise the following at 31 december
group company
2007 2006 2007 2006
£m £m £m £m
total cash 721 836 03 01
bank overdrafts 35 82 – –
686 754 03 01
76 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 30 post balance sheet event
on 28 february 2008 the group announced that it has entered into a series of agreements with the trustee of the rank pension plan and
rothesay life an fsaregulated insurance company and wholly owned subsidiary of goldman sachs to transfer the assets and liabilities of the
pension plan to rothesay life 
the transfer will secure the accrued beneﬁts for the members of the pension plan and will remove the remaining ﬁnancial risks and liabilities in
relation to the pension plan from the group as a result of the transfer the group will no longer be required to make remaining scheduled
contributions totalling £308m which the group agreed with the pension trustee at the time of the sale of deluxe film in 2006 
upon completion of the transfer the group expects to receive a cash payment of at least £200m representing the group’s allocation of the
expected surplus within the pension plan after an appropriate sharing with the plan’s members and any anticipated costs including tax
associated with the transfer
the transfer is subject to clearance from hm revenue and customs regarding the tax treatment of the transfer the group expects this clearance
to be obtained by may 2008 with completion of the transfer expected in june 2008 
assuming the transaction completes an exceptional charge will be recognised in 2008
31 disposal of businesses
the group completed the sale of hard rock on 5 march 2007 resulting in an exceptional proﬁt of £3527m before related ﬁnancing and taxation costs of
£373m a reconciliation of the net proceeds from sale is included in the table below
2007 2006
total total
£m £m
property plant and equipment 1073 791
intangible assets 66 214
inventories 128 349
trade and other receivables 196 3741
investments 521 101
deferred tax 150 –
trade and other payables 309 1091
other provisions 42 19
net assets disposed 1783 4086
proﬁt loss on disposal before tax and ﬁnance costs 3527 70
other related costs and provision utilisation 62 262
cumulative foreign exchange losses recycled within net proﬁt 86 –
cumulative revaluation of available–forsale securities recycled within net proﬁt 444 –
section 75 pension contribution – 240
minority interest – 04
sales consideration 5014 4514
sales proceeds less related costs 5027 4539
cash and overdrafts disposed 65 41
borrowings and lease obligations disposed 52 16
sales consideration 5014 4514
sale proceeds less related costs 5027 4539
cash and overdrafts disposed 65 41
net proceeds from sale of businesses per cash ﬂow 4962 4498
32 employees and directors
a employee beneﬁt expense for the group during the year
2007 2006
continuing discontinued total continuing discontinued total
£m £m £m £m £m £m
wages and salaries 1384 113 1497 1459 1274 2733
social security costs 145 15 160 150 139 289
other pension costs 52 02 54 82 30 112
sharebased payments 16 – 16 09 04 05
1565 130 1695 1700 1439 3139
the company has no employees the directors of the group are paid by a subsidiary undertaking
discontinued relates to costs within hard rock up until the date of disposal
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 77 32 employees and directors continued
b average monthly number of employees by segment
2007 2006
mecca bingo 3824 4457
top rank españa 636 611
grosvenor casinos 3316 3481
blue square 152 132
gaming shared services 211 207
other 30 53
total continuing operations 8169 8941
hard rock 1150 6900
deluxe – 2534
us holidays – 627
total discontinued operations 1150 10061
total 9319 19002
c key management compensation
2007 2006
£m £m
salaries and short term employee beneﬁts 38 32
termination beneﬁts – 17
post employment beneﬁts 05 05
sharebased payments 01 05
44 59
key management is deﬁned as the directors of the group and the executive committee further details of the executive committee are set out on page 29
details of the remuneration of each director are set out in the remuneration report on pages 30 to 34 which form part of these ﬁnancial statements
d directors’ interests
the directors’ interests in shares of the company including options to purchase ordinary shares under the terms of the group’s executive share option
scheme and conditional awards under the long term incentive plan are detailed in the remuneration report details of options to subscribe for ordinary
shares of the company granted to or exercised by directors in the year ended 31 december 2007 are also detailed in the remuneration report
e total emoluments of the directors of the rank group plc 
2007 2006
£m £m
aggregate emoluments 18 39
aggregate gains made on the exercise of share options – 01
aggregate gains made on deferred share bonus plan 01 –
number of directors accruing beneﬁts under deﬁned beneﬁt schemes – 2
further details of emoluments received by directors are included in the remuneration report the 2006 comparatives include amounts in respect
of former directors who resigned in 2006
78 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 33 sharebased payments 
during the year ended 31 december 2007 the company operated the saveasyouearn ‘saye’ share option scheme the executive share
option scheme ‘esos’ the long term incentive plan ‘ltip’ and the deferred share bonus plan details of these schemes are included in the
remuneration report on pages 30 to 34
the number and weighted average exercise prices ‘waep’ of and movements in each of the share option arrangements saye and esos
during the year are shown below together with the weighted average share price wasp at the date of exercise where applicable
outstanding granted exercised expired forfeited outstanding exercisable
at 1 jan during during during during at 31 dec at 31 dec
2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007
esos
number of shares 11812842 – – 255158 6679089 4878595 2182933
waep 27262p – – 36533p 27044p 26860p 27775p
wasp –– – – –– –
saye 3 year
number of shares 2653687 1944256 21210 313322 1603488 2659923 13711
waep 20660p 13900p 23075p 26800p 19232p 15837p 22256p
wasp – – 20192p – –– –
saye 5 year
number of shares 1431167 753405 16771 112711 762331 1292759 18803
waep 20942p 13900p 21085p 23916p 19953p 17160p 23323p
wasp – – 19147p – –– –
outstanding granted exercised lapsed outstanding exercisable
at 1 jan during during during at 31 dec at 31 dec
2006 2006 2006 2006 2006 2006
esos
number of shares 12129249 2764424 971986 2108845 11812842 3588801
waep 28091p 23752p 23384p 29258p 27262p 28886p
wasp – – 26400p – – –
saye 3 year
number of shares 3033616 1711942 811289 1280582 2653687 –
waep 22503p 18700p 19165p 23324p 20660p –
wasp – – 21098p – – –
saye 5 year
number of shares 2581567 612435 1044246 718589 1431167 957
waep 19413p 18700p 14252p 23281p 20942p 14100p
wasp – – 21084p – – –
 from 1 january 2007 information was collected to analyse lapsed options between expired and forfeited this information was not available in 2006
included within these balances are options over shares that have not been recognised in accordance with ifrs 2 as the options were granted before 7
november 2002 these options have not been subsequently modiﬁed and therefore are not required to be accounted for in accordance with ifrs 2
the share options outstanding at the yearend have the following range of exercise prices and expiry dates as follows
outstanding at 31 december 2007 outstanding at 31 december 2006
weighted weighted
average number average number
exercise remaining of shares exercise remaining of shares
prices contractual under prices contractual under
range life option range life option
esos 15525p–33872p 69 years 4878595 15525p–43582p 55 years 11812842
saye 3 year 13900p–26800p 30 years 2659923 18700p–26800p 28 years 2653687
saye 5 year 13900p–26800p 41 years 1292759 14100p–26800p 39 years 1431167
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 79 80 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements
33 sharebased payments continued
the estimated fair values for each of the esos and saye awards granted were calculated using a blackscholes pricing model with the inputs detailed below
the fair value of the ltip was calculated using a monte carlo model approach and indicates the proportion of shares likely to vest taking into account the
total shareholder return performance requirements for grants made subject to an eps performance condition the expense is based on expectations of
these conditions being met which are reassessed at each balance sheet date
2007 2006
riskfree interest rate  495 450
expected life of options – esos na 3 years
expected life of award – ltip 3 or 4 years 3 years
expected life of options – saye 3 or 5 years 3 or 5 years
expected share price volatility  2751 2806
expected dividends expressed as a dividend yield  347 525
the expected life of the esos was based on management’s best estimate of the exercise pattern of option holders taking into account exercise restrictions
and behavioural considerations the expected life of the ltip and saye are determined by the performance period and savings terms respectively
the expected share price volatility was determined by calculating the historical volatility of the group’s share price over the four calendar years prior to 
each grant
the expected dividend growth is based on historical dividend payments in the year prior to grant expressed as a percentage of the weighted average 
share price for that year as such this is based on historical data and does not necessarily indicate future dividend policy
the weighted average fair value per share of awards granted during the year was as follows
2007 2006
esos na 3713p
ltip 19550p 23600p
saye 3 year 4825p 6745p
saye 5 year 5288p 5745p
accounting for sharebased payments in accordance with ifrs 2 resulted in a credit to group proﬁt for the year of £16m 2006 debit of £05m
national insurance contributions are payable by the company in respect of some of the sharebased payments these contributions are payable on the date
of exercise based on the intrinsic value of the sharebased payments and as such are treated as cashsettled awards the group has recorded liabilities at the
end of 2007 of £02m 2006 £04m of which £nil was in respect of vested grants
34 retirement beneﬁts
uk
the group has two pension schemes for uk employees the schemes are externally funded and the funds’ assets are held separately from group assets the
accounts of both schemes for the year ended 5 april 2007 have been reported upon by their auditors without qualiﬁcation
uk rank pension plan
the rank pension plan ‘the plan’ is a deﬁned beneﬁt scheme with pensions ﬁxed by reference to ﬁnal pay and length of service
formal actuarial valuations of the plan are carried out at least triennially by an independent actuary mercer human resource consulting limited the most
recent valuation was undertaken as at 5 april 2007
the most recent actuarial valuation of the plan has been updated by an independent actuary to 31 december 2007
details of the plan’s liabilities and assets under ias 19 are
2007 2006 2005 2004
£m £m £m £m
assets 7408 7110 6365 5564
liabilities 6101 6352 6747 5875
net deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset liability 1307 758 382 311
on 28 february 2008 the group disposed of its interest in and obligations to the plan further details are contained in note 30 34 retirement beneﬁts continued
change in plan assets
2007 2006
£m £m
fair value of plan assets at beginning of year 7110 6365
expected return on plan assets 421 378
actuarial losses gains 77 69
total actual return on plan assets 344 447
employer contributions includes beneﬁts paid and reimbursed
– section 75 contribution 46 240
– other 193 324
member contributions 13 15
beneﬁts paid by fund and company 298 281
fair value of plan assets at end of year 7408 7110
change in beneﬁt obligation
2007 2006
£m £m
beneﬁt obligation at beginning of year 6352 6747
current service cost 43 58
interest cost 316 311
past service cost – 14
plan members’ contributions 13 15
actuarial gains 325 512
beneﬁts paid 298 281
beneﬁt obligation at end of year 6101 6352
the estimated employer contributions expected to be paid to the plan in 2008 are £23m
components of pension cost 
2007 2006
£m £m
current service cost 43 58
amortisation of prior service cost – 14
total pension charge recognised in operating proﬁt in the income statement 43 72
interest cost 316 311
expected return on plan assets 421 378
total pension credit recognised in ﬁnancing in the income statement 105 67
total pension credit charge recognised in the income statement 62 05
statement of recognised income and expense ‘sorie’
2007 2006 2005 2004
£m £m £m £m
actuarial gains and losses immediately recognised
experience gains and losses – 397 – 638
changes in assumptions 325 115 759 443
actual return less expected return in assets 77 69 601 101
section 75 contribution – 240 – –
total pension credit expense recognised in the sorie before taxation 248 821 158 296
taxation 74 174 24 86
total pension credit expense recognised in the sorie 174 647 134 210
the cumulative amount of gains and losses recognised in the sorie before taxation was £1207m 2006 £959m
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 81 34 retirement beneﬁts continued
plan assets
the weighted average asset allocations at the yearend were as follows
2007 2006
market expected market expected
value return value return
investment category £m  pa £m  pa
equities uk and overseas 2104 57 2812 76
government bonds 1252 45 2809 46
nongovernment bonds 1888 57 1303 51
insured pensions 117 57 126 51
cash 2047 55 60 50
total 7408 54 7110 59
to develop the expected long term rate of return on assets assumption the company considered the current level of expected returns on risk free
investments primarily government bonds the historical level of the risk premium associated with the other asset classes in which the portfolio is invested
and the expectations for future returns of each asset class the expected return for each asset class was then weighted based on the actual asset allocation 
to develop the expected long term rate of return on assets assumption for the portfolio over the course of 2007 the plans investment strategy changed 
and a series of derivatives were implemented to remove risk within the portfolio the value of the derivative instruments are contained within the asset 
values at 31 december 2007 and reﬂected in the expected return for 2008 the plan is currently in the process of transitioning growth assets into cash 
and therefore expectations for the total weighted return on the assets over 2008 may differ from those implied at the balance sheet date
assumptions used to determine beneﬁt obligations at
2007 2006
 pa  pa
yield – pre retirement 57 51
yield – post retirement 57 51
price inﬂation 34 30
salary growth 46 42
pension increases – 5 lpi 34 30
weighted average assumptions used to determine net pension expense for year ended
2008 2007 2006
   
discount rate 57 51 47
expected long term return on plan assets 54 59 57
rate of compensation increase 46 42 40
mortality tables used to determine beneﬁt obligations at
2007 2006
current pensioner pa92 yob mc pa92 yob mc
activepreserved member pa92 yob mc pa92 yob mc
other uk pension commitments
during the year to 31 december 2007 the group contributed a total of £09m 2006 £13m to deﬁned contribution schemes the rank money purchase
pension scheme closed to future contribution on 5 april 2006 and was replaced by the rank group stakeholder pension plan both of these are deﬁned
contribution schemes with beneﬁts which depend on the contribution levels and the emerging investment performance there were no signiﬁcant
contributions outstanding
the group has an unfunded pension commitment relating to three former executives of the group the provision is calculated using a basis consistent 
with the assumptions used to value the funded deﬁned beneﬁt plan in the uk at 31 december the group’s commitment was £26m 2006 £30m 
the group paid £01m 2006 £04m in pension payments during the year
us
the group operated deﬁned contribution schemes in the us group contributions to these schemes during 2007 totalled £02m 2006 £27m 
there were no signiﬁcant contributions outstanding
total 
at 31 december 2007 there was a net pension surplus of £1281m of which £1307m relates to the plan and £26m relates to the unfunded 
uk commitment
82 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 35 lease commitments
operating lease agreements where the group is lessee
the group has entered into commercial leases on certain properties plant and items of machinery these leases have durations between two and over 
100 years 
future minimum rentals payable under noncancellable operating leases are as follows 
2007 2006
group £m £m
not later than one year 417 693
after one year but not more than ﬁve years 1551 3230
after ﬁve years 3812 5910
5780 9833
of which relates to discontinued operations – 4040
2007 2006
£m £m
total future minimum sublease payments expected to be received under noncancellable subleases 670 789
finance leases where the group is a lessee
the minimum lease payments under ﬁnance leases together with the present value of the net minimum lease payments are as follows
present value
minimum of minimum
lease payments lease payments
2007 2006 2007 2006
group £m £m £m £m
not later than one year 19 28 09 17
after one year but not more than ﬁve years 68 74 32 34
more than ﬁve years 152 171 105 116
239 273 146 167
less future ﬁnance charges 93 106
present value of minimum lease payments 146 167
2007 2006
£m £m
total future minimum sublease payments expected to be received under noncancellable subleases 27 29
36 contingent liabilities 
group
2007 2006
£m £m
guarantees by the company and by subsidiary undertakings – 09
company
2007 2006
£m £m
guarantees of advances to subsidiary undertakings 2151 7687
no security has been given in respect of any contingent liability
37 capital and other ﬁnancial commitments
group
2007 2006
£m £m
contracts placed for future capital expenditure not provided in the ﬁnancial information 12 70
contracts placed for future capital expenditure primarily relate to property plant and equipment
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 83 38 related party transactions
group
the group recharges the rank group uk pension schemes with the costs of administration and independent pension advisers borne by the group the total
amount recharged in the year ended 31 december 2007 was £22m 2006 £17m
in 2006 the group traded with its joint venture undertaking lifestar and its subsidiaries royalties and costs reimbursed in 2006 to the group totalled £07m
at 31 december 2006 lifestar owed the group £13m for which the group held an associated doubtful debt provision of £11m the groups interest in
lifestar and associated balances were disposed with the sale of hard rock on 5 march 2007 following the sale the group has no relationship with lifestar
and there were no material transactions between 1 january 2007 and the date of sale
company
the following transactions with subsidiaries occurred in the year
2007 2006
£m £m
interest payable 286 346
during the year rank group finance limited a subsidiary of the company provided additional cash funding to the company of £3840m 
the funding was primarily used to ﬁnance dividends including the £3525m special dividend full details of how the funding was utilised are
disclosed in the company cash ﬂow statement on page 44
39 restatement of 2006 full year comparative
the group has amended its accounting policy in relation to exceptional items and the net return on the deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset
the accounting policy previously reported in the group’s ﬁnancial statements for the year ended 31 december 2006 in relation to exceptional items has
been amended to aid comparability of the group’s results further details of the revised policy are provided in note 1a
the group has also reviewed its policy in relation to the classiﬁcation within the income statement of the net return arising on its deﬁned beneﬁt pension
asset to improve comparability of the results and in accordance with accounting best practice the group has decided to reclassify the net return arising 
on the deﬁned beneﬁt pension asset from operating proﬁt to net ﬁnancing costs
these changes had no effect on total basic or diluted earnings per share
the table below provides a reconciliation of the impact of the changes on the 2006 full year comparative
as published reclassiﬁcation as restated
year to net return on club year to
311206 pension asset disposals impairment 311206
£m £m £m £m £m
continuing operations
operating proﬁt
mecca bingo 632 21 61 86 636
top rank españa 89 –– – 89
grosvenor casinos 395 32 – – 363
blue square 78 –– – 78
gaming shared services 248 12 – – 260
other 172 02 – – 174
before exceptional items 774 67 61 86 732
exceptional items 562 – 61 86 537
group operating proﬁt 1336 67 – – 1269
total net ﬁnancing charge 407 67 – – 340
proﬁt before taxation 929 –– – 929
taxation 216 –– – 216
proﬁt for the year from continuing operations 1145 –– – 1145
discontinued operations 45 –– – 45
proﬁt for the year 1190 –– – 1190
 all restatements to operating proﬁt before exceptional items are included in the other operating costs income line in the group income statement
in addition the 2006 comparatives have been restated to reﬂect the transfer of £139m of assets from property plant and equipment to
intangible assets as if it had taken place on 1 january 2006 segmental assets and liabilities have been restated to reclassify cash and cash
equivalents derivative ﬁnancial instruments retirement beneﬁts and net interest payable to unallocated assets and liabilities provisions for
liabilities and charges have been allocated to the respective business and geographical segments
84 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
notes to the ﬁnancial statements continued
financial statements 40 principal subsidiaries 
except where otherwise stated the rank group plc owns directly or indirectly 100 of the ordinary share capital and voting rights of the following
companies
the principal operations are carried out in the country of incorporation as indicated below
the companies all have a 31 december yearend
the group comprises a large number of companies and it is not practical to list all of them below the list therefore includes those companies which the
directors consider principally affect the consolidated results or ﬁnancial position of the group particulars of all group companies will be annexed to the next
annual return submitted to the registrar of companies
country of 
gaming incorporation principal activities
grosvenor casinos limited uk london and provincial casinos
mecca bingo limited uk social and bingo clubs
rank holding españa sa spain owns the group’s investments in top rank españa
rank group gaming division limited uk owns the group’s investments in uk gaming companies
and provides gaming shared services
blue square limited uk interactive gaming
blue square gaming alderney limited uk interactive gaming
holding and other companies
rank america inc usa owns the group’s residual investments in the usa
rank group finance plc uk funding operations for the group
rank leisure holdings limited uk owns the group’s investments in the uk operating subsidiary 
undertakings and rank overseas holdings limited 
rank overseas holdings limited uk owns the group’s investment in rank holdings netherlands bv 
and rank america inc
 directly held by the parent company
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 85 other information
ifrs uk gaap
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
restated
£m £m £m £m £m
revenue 534 550 530 788 1926
operating proﬁt before goodwill amortisation and exceptional items 68 73 91 136 218
goodwill amortisation uk gaap only – ––– 6
operating proﬁt – current operations 68 73 91 136 212
exceptional items charged credited against operating proﬁt 45 54 12 42 51
nonoperating items including share of associates – ––– 4
net ﬁnance cost 22 48 44 37 43
amortisation of equity component of convertible bond 4 3 3 – –
unwinding of discount in disposal provisions 1 ––––
net return on deﬁned beneﬁt asset 11 7–––
other ﬁnancial gains losses 1 10 16 6 –
other associates and joint ventures – ––– 1
proﬁt before tax 7 93 16 63 123
tax 12 22 1 3 28
discontinued operations 317 5 224 74 –
preference dividends – – – – 17
minority interests – 2 1 1 1
earnings loss for the year 312 117 210 15 79
adjusted earnings per share 74p 46p 54p 127p na
basic earnings loss per ordinary share 724p 199p 336p 25p 133p
basic earnings per ordinary share before exceptional items 77p 118p 77p 235p 182p
total dividend including proposed per ordinary share 20p 60p 153p 146p 139p
ifrs uk gaap
2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
restated
£m £m £m £m £m
group funds employed
intangible assets and property plant and equipment 358 377 659 829 927
investments – 1455557
other liabilities assets net 54 144 196 152 191
total funds employed at yearend 304 522 900 1036 1175
financed by
ordinary share capital and reserves 13 75 157 391 458
minority interests – –11 916
13 75 168 400 474
net debt see note 21 317 447 732 636 701
304 522 900 1036 1175
average number of employees 000s 93 190 243 252 240
2007 2006 2005 and 2004 results above reﬂect ifrs 2003 reﬂected uk gaap as applied at 31 december 2004
the above numbers are rounded to the nearest £m
86 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
five year review
year ended 31 december
other information the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 87
shareholder information
a wide range of information for shareholders and investors is available 
in the investors  press area of the rank group website wwwrankcom
ordinary shares
there was a total of 390529314 ordinary 13 89p shares in issue 
at 31 december 2007 which were held by 22505 shareholders
share price information
the latest information on the rank ordinary share price is available in 
the investors  press area of the wwwrankcom website closing share
prices for the previous business day are quoted in most daily newspapers
and throughout the working day timedelayed share prices are
broadcast on the text pages of the principal uk tv channels
capital gains tax
for the purpose of calculating uk capital gains tax on a disposal of
ordinary shares in the company held since 31 march 1982 including
shares held in the predecessor company the rank organisation plc the
price of the company’s ordinary shares at that date was 190p per share
this price should be adjusted for the effects of the rights issue in january
1990 the enhanced share alternative in july 1993 the subdivision and
consolidation of shares in march 1994 the enhanced scrip dividend in
march 1998 and the 18 for 25 subdivision and share consolidation
aligned with the 65p special dividend payment which took place in
march 2007 more information regarding these adjustments is available
on the wwwrankcom website
share dealing services
the sale or purchase of shares must be done through a stockbroker or
share dealing service provider the london stock exchange provides a
‘locate a broker’ facility on its website which gives details of a number of
companies offering share dealing services
for more information please visit the investor centre tools page at
wwwlondonstockexchangecom
rank has also arranged a panel of lowcost providers details of which can
be found on the shareholder services pages within the investors  press
area of the company’s website wwwrankcom
please note that the directors of the company are not seeking to
encourage shareholders to either buy or to sell shares shareholders in
any doubt about what action to take are recommended to seek ﬁnancial
advice from an independent ﬁnancial adviser authorised pursuant to the
financial services and markets act 2000
registrar
all enquiries relating to ordinary shareholders dividends and changes of
address should be addressed to the company’s registrar quoting
reference number 1235 equiniti limited aspect house spencer road
lancing west sussex bn99 6da 
tel 0871 384 2098
there is also a text phone available on 0871 384 2255 for shareholders
with hearing difﬁculties
calls to both of these numbers are charged at 8p per minute from a bt
landline other telephony provider costs may vary
shareview
the shareview portfolio service from the company’s registrar gives
shareholders more control over their rank shares and other investments
including
– direct access to data held for them on the share register including
recent share movements and dividend details
– a recent valuation of their portfolio and
– a range of information and practical help for shareholders
it is easy and free to set up a portfolio – shareholders will just need the
shareholder reference printed on their proxy form or dividend stationery
please visit the following website for more details wwwshareviewcouk
sharegift
shareholders with a very small number of shares the value of which may
make it uneconomical to sell may wish to consider donating them to
charity through sharegift a registered charity administered by the orr
mackintosh foundation 
further information about sharegift is available at wwwsharegiftorg
or by writing to
sharegift
17 carlton house terrace
london sw1y 5ah
tel 020 7930 3737
for further information on rank please contact
pamela coles company secretary
dan waugh director of investor relations
registered in england no 3140769
the rank group plc
registered ofﬁce 
statesman house
stafferton way
maidenhead
berkshire sl6 1ay
tel 01628 504000
wwwrankcom
2008 ﬁnancial calendar
7 may annual general meeting and 
interim management statement
31 july interim results announcement
october interim management statement glossary
88 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
other information
financial terms and kpis
active customers 
unique customers visiting a bingo club or casino or operating an online 
or telephone betting account in the 12month period 
admissions 
individual customer visits to bingo clubs and casinos
ebitda
earnings before interest tax depreciation amortisation and 
exceptional items
like for like
excludes bingo clubs and casinos not open for a full 12 months 
in 2006 and 2007
operating proﬁt 
earnings before interest tax and exceptional items
operating margin
operating proﬁt expressed as a percentage of revenue
revenue 
income retained by group after deductions for vat and players’ winnings
share consolidation 
a reduction of a company’s shares in issue often associated with 
a capital return
special dividend 
a onetime distribution of funds to shareholders
spend per head
revenue divided by admissions 
tax  regulation
amld amusement machine licence duty 
an annual duty payment relating to gaming machines the rate of duty
payable varies according to machine category 
british gambling prevalence survey 2007 
study of the prevalence of gambling in great britain conducted between
september 2006 and march 2007
category b1 gaming machine
gaming machine with maximum stake of £2 and maximum prize 
of £4000 up to 20 permitted per casino
category b2 gaming machine
gaming machine with maximum stake of £100 and maximum prize 
of £500 up to four permitted per licensed betting ofﬁce
category b3 gaming machine 
gaming machine with maximum stake of £1 and maximum prize 
of £500 up to four permitted per bingo club or adult gaming centre
category c gaming machine
gaming machine with maximum stake of 50p and maximum 
prize of £35
casino advisory panel
independent body appointed by the department of culture media and
sport to advise on the locations for new casinos granted under the
gambling act 
casino gaming duty 
a gross proﬁts tax applied to revenue from casino table games 
including electronic roulette and other electronic versions of 
table games
gambling act 
the gambling act 2005 is the primary piece of legislation governing
gambling regulations in great britain
gamcare 
a charitable organisation which provides counselling to those with
gamblingrelated problems 
gambling commission 
the governing body for all sectors of gambling in great britain with the
exceptions of the national lottery and spread betting
responsibility in gambling trust rigt 
a charity that funds treatment education and research related to 
problem gambling
gaming terminology
adult gaming centre 
a gaming machines arcade
electronic bingo 
a means of playing bingo using an electronic terminal rather than 
paper books
interval games 
an automated game of bingo played in a licensed club
mainstage bingo 
a traditional game of bingo played in a licensed club
parimutuel gaming 
gaming where players compete with each other to win prizes 
the house may take a fee for organising the game but does not 
participate actively also called ‘playertoplayer’ gaming
section 21 gaming terminal
a gaming terminal played under section 21 of the 1968 gaming act 
no longer permitted under the gambling act 2005
white label agreement 
an agreement to provide interactive gambling services to customers
marketed under a thirdparty brand the best
game in town
25m
active customers
147
licensed gaming premises
8000
employees
cert no ttcoc002228
the forest stewardship council fsc is an
international network which promotes responsible
management of the world’s forests forest
certiﬁcation is combined with a system of product
labelling that allows consumers to readily identify
timberbased products from certiﬁed forests
designed black sun plc
printed by royle print our aim is to create 
fun and enjoyment for 
our customers through
gamingbased leisure
experiences 
we recognise our
responsibility to act at all
times with consideration for
our people our customers 
and the communities in 
which we operate
the rank group website provides news and
details of the group’s activities as well as useful
links the investor section contains a variety of
information including the group’s latest results
and current and historic share prices
you may view an online version of this 
annual report at wwwrankcom 
visit us at 
wwwrankcom 
annual report and financial statements 2007
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 2007


Summary:
 summary of results – continuing operations
the group delivered growth in operating proﬁt for
the ﬁrst six months of the year but the second half
proved more difﬁcult as our bingo clubs and casinos
absorbed the negative effects of new legislation
higher taxation and a deteriorating economic
environment for consumers
revenue from continuing operations of £5344m 
was 28 lower than in 2006 while group
operating proﬁt of £683m was down 67 like for
like clubs revenue which excludes new openings
closures and relocations of bingo clubs and casinos
was 05 ahead of our performance in 2006
the decline in operating proﬁt was due in part 
to £69m of additional lease costs relating to the
2006 sale and leaseback transaction and £46m 
of incremental casino gaming duty arising from
taxation changes announced in the budget 2007
we achieved a net cost reduction of £180m in
group central costs and shared services although
this related in part to £89m of oneoff costs incurred
in 2006 excluding the effects of these oneoff costs
the duty increases and higher lease costs group
operating proﬁt was 28 lower than in 2006
blue square delivered the strongest performance in
the group achieving signiﬁcant growth in revenue
and operating proﬁt while revenue and operating
proﬁt in top rank españa recovered in part from the
effects of the partial smoking ban introduced in 2006
our two largest businesses mecca bingo and
grosvenor casinos both generated lower revenue
and operating proﬁt than in 2006 the lower 
proﬁt performance was due in part to higher lease
costs and in the case of grosvenor casinos the
increased rates of casino gaming duty introduced 
in april 2007 during the ﬁnal four months of the
year revenue in both businesses fell as the 
negative effects of the smoking ban and the loss 
of section 21 gaming terminals required by the
gambling act were compounded by a 
deterioration in consumer conﬁdence
in 2007 the group has incurred £452m of
exceptional losses chieﬂy related to the impairment
of assets and creation of onerous lease provisions in
mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos full details are
provided in the ﬁnance review
chief executive’s review
after making a strong start to our ﬁrst year as a focused gaming business 
we experienced a signiﬁcant deterioration in trading conditions in the second
half for our uk retail businesses mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos
stabilise group performance
increase customer visits
campaign for fair taxation
revenue £m operating proﬁt £m
2007 2006 2007 2006
restated
mecca bingo 2405 2617 436 636
top rank españa 323 311 93 89
grosvenor casinos 2095 2176 299 363
blue square 521 392 109 78
shared services 185 260
central costs 69 174
continuing operations 5344 5496 683 732
4 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
 before exceptional items
the group has restated its ﬁnancial results for 2006 to reﬂect changes in accounting policy relating to exceptional items and the net
return on the deﬁned beneﬁt asset a restatement of group full year proﬁts for 2006 is contained in note 39 to the ﬁnancial statements
in addition a number of key performance indicators have been restated on a like for like rather than absolute basis this more
accurately reﬂects the underlying performances of the group’s businesses
2008 priorities
directors’ report business review during 2007 we created
external bingo enclosures at
30 of our mecca bingo clubs
this innovation proved
popular with customers and
helped to protect revenues in
the second half of the year
for more information please visit 
www rankcom
we remain committed to our vision of creating 
the uk’s leading gaming group with a longterm
strategy to generate shareholder value through the
development of gamingbased leisure businesses 
we continue to develop a range of differentiated
betting and gaming products geared to different
segments of the adult population and distributed
through a variety of retail and interactive channels 
our focus is on increasing the number of visits to our
businesses by rewarding our most loyal customers
reaching out to engage with new customers and
delivering a consistently high level of service and
product to all of our customers
our immediate aim in 2008 is to stabilise the group
performance in what is expected to be a difﬁcult 
year for the leisure sector balancing nearterm
ﬁnancial requirements with the longterm growth
opportunities for our businesses consequently 
we have reviewed our capital spending plans and 
reﬁned a number of the expansion and portfolio
enhancement targets that we set at the time of 
our interim results in august 2007
adapt businesses to protect revenue
during 2007 we introduced a number of innovations
designed speciﬁcally to address the challenge of the
smoking ban our principal aim was to adapt our
bingo clubs and casinos to preserve enjoyment for
smoking as well as nonsmoking customers
in the year we completed the ﬁrst phase of 
this programme erecting sheltered areas at the 
majority of our mecca bingo clubs and grosvenor
casinos we introduced a total of 720 interval 
bingo playing positions into the shelters at 30 
of our mecca bingo clubs having obtained the
necessary local licensing and planning approvals
these shelters proved popular with customers
generating incremental revenue for the clubs 
and supporting club prizeboards
the second phase of this programme to expand 
and improve the sheltered enclosures at selected
clubs is currently underway in mecca bingo we are
now operating interval bingo in 39 of our outside
enclosures and we have obtained gaming licensing
approval to extend this to a further two clubs we
plan to have developed outside gaming at 50 of 
our clubs by the end of the current year
tighten cost controls to deliver savings
we have targeted a further £15m of cost reductions
across the group during 2008 this is based upon 
a series of margin protection measures identiﬁed
during the ﬁnal quarter of 2007 which included 
strategic priorities
stabilise group performance
reduction of marketing and promotional 
expenditure in mecca bingo and grosvenor 
casinos a deferral of annual pay reviews greater
purchasing and operating efﬁciencies and a small
number of redundancies
this package of cost savings is in addition to 
the signiﬁcant cost savings delivered in 2007
selective capital investment
given the changes affecting our businesses and 
the current economic volatility we have decided 
to prioritise capital spending and to defer a number
of major capital projects among these projects 
are plans to refurbish a number of our grosvenor 
casinos and rebrand them under the g casino
name we will keep all expenditure under review 
and plan to commence development projects as 
the trading environment improves
the development of the g casinos in aberdeen 
and dundee are not affected by our revision of
capital expenditure and are scheduled to open in
2008 and 2009 respectively our new g casino 
at thanet in kent opened in february 2008 
improve product offer and customer service
our portfolio of businesses allows us to target
different segments of the uk adult population 
with a range of gaming and nongaming products
including bingo casino games gaming machines
poker sports betting and food and drink our 
ability to innovate subject to any regulatory
restrictions is an important part of our strategy 
to attract and retain customers
gaming products
during 2007 we extended the rollout of electronic
bingo to 99 of our mecca bingo clubs principally
through the use of handheld terminals this
involved the testing and trial of ﬁve different models
of handheld units sourced from suppliers in the uk
and in north america by the end of the year we had
more than 5000 handheld and desktop units across
these clubs in addition we currently have 178
electronic bingo positions across our 11 top rank
españa bingo clubs in spain
the most immediate beneﬁt of electronic bingo 
is that it allows customers to play a higher number 
of bingo tickets per game during 2008 we will
continue to develop electronic bingo and are at
present testing an enhanced product that allows 
for richer games content and greater interactivity 
in late 2006 we introduced video bingo into two of
our top rank españa clubs following the success of
this trial we adapted the product and launched it in
the uk at ﬁve of our mecca bingo clubs in january
2008 video bingo terminals allow customers across
our clubs portfolio to play individual automated
games of bingo against each other 
sustainable growth 
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 5 in january 2008 nonleague
havant and waterlooville fc
who play in the blue square
south reached the fourth
round of the fa cup
following a review of our gaming machines estate
we are making a range of improvements both 
in mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos during 
the second half of 2007 we initiated a trial of
serverbased gaming machines in three of our 
mecca bingo clubs and in 2008 we will replace a
signiﬁcant number of machines to deliver a more
efﬁcient mix of products
under the gambling act 2005 it has become 
simpler to test new casino games and we have
introduced a number of new games and sidebets
into our casinos we will continue to explore
opportunities to adopt successful casino games 
from other gaming jurisdictions
in blue square we are extending our sports betting
coverage to incorporate a range of international
sports as part of the overseas development of 
the business 
nongaming products
we recognise that our food and beverage offers in
mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos have not kept
pace with developments in the eatingout market
and that we need to improve our menus our service
skills and our systems 
in 2007 we tested a number of new catering
concepts in mecca bingo with a focus on quality
value and convenience and we are appointing
dedicated food and beverage managers in a number
of our larger casinos and bingo clubs to support this
we will complete the installation of a new electronic
point of sale system in grosvenor casinos during the
ﬁrst half of 2008 a similar project for mecca bingo
will be underway shortly 
reward loyal customers and engage 
with new customers
reward loyal customers
in 2008 we will launch a new customer rewards
programme for customers of grosvenor and 
g casinos deploying the worldleading bally 
system in a number of our casinos on a trial basis
this will enable us to provide additional beneﬁts 
to our most loyal customers and will help us to 
gain a greater understanding of customer
preferences and playing patterns
we are currently exploring loyalty programmes 
for mecca bingo and for blue square’s interactive
gaming and betting products and aim to introduce
schemes for each business in the current year 
engage with new customers
across the group we have stepped up our efforts 
to grow our customer base through a targeted
approach to new member marketing
in mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos we are 
using offerbased direct marketing member referral
schemes and new member sales managers to 
attract new and lapsed customers
during the ﬁnal quarter of 2007 grosvenor 
casinos launched its ﬁrst press and radio consumer
advertising campaign as a result of the gambling
act’s relaxation of advertising restrictions for gaming
companies providing local sales and marketing
support for 18 of our casinos while we do not
anticipate material expenditure on casino advertising
in 2008 the potential to create greater consumer
awareness and understanding of our casinos is
expected to be signiﬁcant in the long term
during 2007 blue square stepped up its marketing
programme with a series of sponsorships designed
to raise awareness of the brand in its key markets
the ﬂagship events were
– horse racing – blue square nassau
stakesstewards cup televised on bbc1
– greyhound racing – blue square greyhound
derby televised on sky sports
– nonleague football – blue square premier blue
square north and blue square south televised 
on setanta sports
– darts – blue square uk darts open televised 
on sky sports
– poker – blue square grosvenor uk poker tour
televised on channel 4
these ﬁve sponsorships achieved widespread
coverage for blue square on terrestrial and digital
television in 2007 which included only half a season
of the blue square premier 
extend reach through development of retail 
and interactive distribution channels
mecca bingo
although the sector is experiencing a period of
volatility bingo remains a highly popular leisure
pursuit in the uk in the long term we aim to grow
the number of bingo players in the uk through 
club and interactive development in recent years
however we have had to shrink our clubs portfolio 
in the face of high taxation changes in customer
preferences adverse changes to gaming regulations
and the effects of the smoking ban 
during 2007 we closed 11 bingo clubs ten in 
the ﬁrst half one in the second half which we
considered particularly vulnerable in the light of the
smoking ban typically these clubs of which eight
were owned on a freehold basis presented limited
scope for modernisation or adaptation and a small
number offered greater value under alternative use 
at 31 december 2007 we had completed the
disposal of six of the freehold properties for an
aggregate consideration of £232m reporting a
£172m proﬁt on disposal net of associated closure
costs at present we have no plans for further club
closures although we will continue to keep our
portfolio under review
in february 2008 we opened a new mecca bingo
club at thanet in kent taking our total number of
clubs to 103 
chief executive’s review continued
6 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
directors’ report business review in september 2007 we
rebranded the hard rock
casino in london’s leicester
square which became our
fourth g casino
for more information please visit 
www rankcom
although we have identiﬁed a number of additional
locations where we intend to open new clubs 
we have decided to suspend further new club
development until we have greater visibility over
trading conditions
in addition we have examined opportunities to
maximise the returns on our assets through the
development of adult gaming centres within 
those properties where we have excess space 
we opened our ﬁrst adult gaming centre in ashford
in january 2008 
top rank españa
we continue to monitor the development of the
gambling market in spain to assess opportunities 
for our spanish bingo clubs business 
grosvenor casinos
our strategy to grow our active customer base is
supported by a programme of casino development
in 2007 our g casinos concept launched in
manchester in 2006 was extended to luton 
licence relocation blackpool and london’s leicester
square rebranding the grosvenor and hard rock
casinos respectively 
g casinos are aimed at the mainstream leisure
market and typically occupy large sites in highproﬁle
and easily accessible locations as well as featuring
spacious and modern gaming areas a signiﬁcant
proportion of the g casino is set aside for soft
gaming parimutuel such as poker or nongaming
activities through the provision of live entertainment
sports and media lounges bars and restaurants
with the opening of g casinos in thanet and
aberdeen during 2008 the brand will have been
extended to six locations by the end of the year
in december 2007 we closed our lossmaking
grosvenor casino in liverpool although in time 
we expect to relocate the licence to an improved 
site in the city
at present we operate 32 casinos in great britain 
and we hold licences to operate casinos in a further
13 locations this includes the two new licences 
that were granted under the 1968 gaming act 
the ‘1968 act’ to grosvenor casinos in 2007 
at southendonsea and at edinburgh our non
operating 1968 act casino licences present signiﬁcant
scope for the business to widen its distribution
we expect to have opened ﬁve new casinos
including g casino aberdeen by 2012 in addition
we will seek to relocate a number of licences and
invest selectively in the modernisation and extension
of existing casinos the slightly slower pace of
development than indicated previously reﬂects 
this year’s revised capital spending plans and is
representative of a more general slowing in new
supply across the market 
since april 2006 there has been a moratorium in
effect on the submission of applications for new
casino licences under the 1968 act although a
number of applications submitted prior to april 2006
are still to be determined the success rate is low
nine out of 30 applications were granted in 2007
only four of which were in markets where grosvenor
operates and we have started to see a number of
casino closures as a consequence we anticipate 
that by 2012 there will be fewer than 160 casinos
operating in great britain under the 1968 act
the government has announced its intention to
proceed with the development of 16 new generation
casinos provided for within the gambling act we
remain interested in a small number of the licences
and believe that our track record of responsible and
innovative operation of casinos in britain is a strong
asset however at present it is not clear whether the
order to approve the locations of these licences will
be approved by parliament how the bidding process
will work and precisely what operating conditions
will apply to the new casinos
blue square
during 2007 blue square continued to extend its
customer reach through agreements with virgin
media to offer blue square sports betting and 
bingo to virgin’s broadband internet customers 
and probability games to provide mobile phone
versions of popular casino games 
during the ﬁrst half of 2008 we will launch
bingouniversalcom an online bingo and gaming
website for the spanish market and we will begin
offering multilingual multicurrency sports betting
services to customers of 888com under a ‘white
label’ agreement
during 2007 we stepped up our campaign for 
a level playing ﬁeld across the gambling industry
through the application of fair and consistent tax 
and regulatory policies
the focus of our efforts was the pursuit of a change
in taxation for bingo which unlike any other form 
of gambling in the uk is subject to both 175 
value added tax vat and 15 gross proﬁts tax
gpt it is disappointing that in spite of repeated
questions from members of parliament and the
bingo association the government has yet to
provide a satisfactory explanation for its continued
discrimination against bingo
the government’s decision to increase casino
gaming duty in the budget 2007 cost grosvenor
casinos an additional £46m in gaming duty 
the change which was introduced without prior
notiﬁcation or consultation with the casinos industry
resulted in a 226 increase in casino gaming duty
although some of our smaller casinos experienced
duty rises of as much as 500 
hm treasury has stated that it is reviewing the
taxation treatment of playertoplayer poker played
in casinos the effect of applying gpt to poker fees 
gambling taxation
the rank group plc annual report and financial statements 7 chief executive’s review continued
in addition to vat would not be material in terms
of group proﬁts but would nevertheless discourage
investment in poker rooms which represent a softer
gaming aspect to casino operations we would
consider such a move to be contradictory to the
stated aims of the government’s gambling policy
on 28 february 2008 we announced that we had
entered into a series of agreements with the t rustee 
of the rank pension plan and rothesay life a wholly
owned subsidiary of goldman sachs to transfer the
assets and liabilities of the pension plan to rothesay life
the transfer will secure the accrued beneﬁts for the
members of the pension plan and will remove the
remaining ﬁnancial risks and liabilities in relation to
the pension plan from rank as a result of the
transfer rank will no longer be required to make
remaining scheduled contributions totalling £308m
which the group agreed with the pension trustee 
at the time of the sale of deluxe film in 2006
upon completion of the transfer rank expects 
to receive a cash payment of at least £20m
representing the groups allocation of the expected
surplus within the pension plan after an appropriate
sharing with the plans members and any anticipated
costs including tax associated with the transfer
the transfer is subject to clearance from hm revenue
and customs regarding the tax treatment of the
transfer rank expects this clearance to be obtained
by may 2008 with completion of the transfer
expected in june 2008
payment of special dividend
on 5 march 2007 we completed the 965m
£502m disposal of hard rock to seminole hard
rock entertainment inc a whollyowned subsidiary
of the seminole tribe of florida as a consequence
we were able to return £353m to shareholders via 
a 650p per share special dividend which was paid
on 9 april 2007 the special dividend payment was
accompanied by an 18 for 25 share consolidation
on 12 october 2007 the group paid an interim
dividend of 20p per share however as a result 
of the difﬁcult and uncertain trading environment
the board announced on 12 december 2007 that it
had decided not to pay a ﬁnal dividend for the year
the board intends to resume dividend payments
once trading conditions and the market outlook 
have improved
dividend
hard rock
pension plan
8 the rank group plc annual report and financial statements
in october 2007 chancellor 
of the exchequer alistair
darling mp visited his local
mecca bingo club at fountain
park in edinburgh to listen to
customer and employee calls
for an end to ‘double taxation’
we announced at the time of our last market update
in december 2007 that trading had stabilised in
mecca bingo and grosvenor casinos in the nineweek
period since 7 october during the ﬁrst eight weeks
of 2008 this position has been broadly maintained 
in grosvenor casinos with a modest improvement 
in mecca bingo
during the period group revenue declined by
103 on a like for like basis against the ﬁrst eight
weeks in 2007
in mecca bingo like for like revenue was 135
lower than in the ﬁrst eight weeks in 2007 with
admissions down by 136 and spend per head up
01 this compares with the 173 fall in revenue
experienced during the 17 weeks from the start of
september 2007 when the gambling act was
implemented to the end of the year 
in grosvenor casinos like for like revenue was 
134 lower than in the ﬁrst eight weeks in 2007
with admissions down 134 and spend per head
level this performance reﬂects a good comparative
trading period in 2007 the effects of competitor
openings on a small number of our casinos and a
reduction in promotional expenditure at the start 
of 2008 in absolute revenue terms we have
continued to trade in line with the ﬁnal 17 
weeks in 2007
in blue square revenue grew by 149 with a
strong improvement in gaming but continued
weakness from our sportsbook 
the board believes that 2008 will be a challenging
year for ranks businesses as they continue to
respond to changes in the legislative and economic
environment the priority for the group is to stabilise
performance while retaining a focus on the longer
term opportunities for growth in the gaming sector 
ian burke
chief executive
yearonyear revenue growth for the eight weeks
to 24 february 2008
like for like 
revenue  total revenue 
mecca bingo 135 168
top rank españa 27 27
grosvenor casinos 134 122
blue square 149 149
group 103 110 
 excludes new club openings closures and relocations
outlook
directors’ report business review