Kindred acquires Rank’s Belgian casino subsidiary

The group has reached a deal to buy all the shares in Blankenberge Casino-Kursaal.

Belgium.- The Kindred Group has announced it will buy all of the shares in the Rank Group’s Blankenberge Casino-Kursaal (Blancas) for £25m.

Rank’s Belgian subsidiary operates Casino Blankenberge on the coast of Belgium north of Bruges.

Kindred has worked together with the company since 2012 as Belgian online gambling regulations require igaming operators to work with a land-based partner.

The deal is expected to be completed in the final quarter of the year. Kindred will operate the subsidiary as a separate entity under the existing management team, which is led by Dominique de Wilde. 

A spokesperson for Kindred said: “The acquisition will solidify Kindred’s long-term operations and commitments in Belgium and will allow Kindred to continue to offer an attractive broad offering to Belgian customers.”

Casino Blankenberge has been owned by Rank since 1998. It’s one of nine land-based casinos in Belgium and will begin a new 15-year operating licence in January.

It reported revenue of €10m and operating profit of €3m for the 12 months to June 30. 

The deal means Rank will leave Belgium completely, having closed its presence in Middlekerke in 2017.

Chief executive John O’Reilly said: “Today’s announcement of the sale of the Blankenberge casino secures the next chapter for a great venue in Belgium and a team that deliver an excellent customer experience to the local community.

“As a standalone casino, the business was non-core to Rank’s international growth plans and the £25m sale proceeds supports the Group’s liquidity and future growth initiatives.”

Earlier this month Belgium introduced capacity limits for casinos due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.