Doncaster racecourse owner boost

19/05/2010

Increased contribution from international media rights helped Doncaster Racecourse operator Arena Leisure enjoy improved trading.
There has been a moderate improvement in business trends at Arena Leisure, compared with levels seen in 2009 at the company, which operates a total of seven courses in the UK.
The media rights are distributed through At The Races (ATR), Arena's affiliate.
Arena said: "Trading in the year to date has been in line with our expectations and we anticipate that the moderate improvements we are seeing will continue. Trading over the important summer period is more dependent on economic recovery and consumer sentiment and therefore, at this stage, remains inherently uncertain.
"Visibility of forward hospitality bookings for the summer season and the September St Leger festival is limited as lead times remain short. To date, the booking patterns for hospitality business are similar to 2009 and we maintain our previous view that 2010 is likely to have a similar outcome."
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