A 10% increase in ticket income from Royal Ascot week last year "helped produce cantering profits growth at the company which runs the event." Ascot Authority (Holdings) reported pre-tax profits of £5.1M for '16, up by 16%. AAH "paid down" more than £10M of debt in the year, reducing net borrowings to £71.8M. It "borrowed heavily" in the early '00s to finance a £220M modernization plan (LONDON TIMES, 6/12).
Leicester City owner King Power Group completed its purchase of Belgian club Oud-Heverlee Leuven. King Power CEO Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, who is Leicester's vice-chair, was appointed to the Belgian club's board after a 92% acquisition was finalized. Two more members of Leicester's staff -- CEO Susan Whelan and Dir of Football Jon Rudkin -- will join Srivaddhanaprabha on OHL's board (SKY SPORTS, 6/12).
Gym company David Lloyd Leisure is "beefing up its overseas operations" by acquiring its first club in Italy. The group, which has 12 clubs in the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Spain, "exchanged contracts" on the Malaspina Sporting Club in Milan for an "undisclosed price." DLL plans to invest €6M ($6.72M) in refurbishing and developing the site (LONDON TIMES, 6/12).
