Numbers up for Buzz Bingo as owner explores sale

The owner of one of Britain's biggest bingo chains is exploring a sale even as its boss warns that a further budget tax raid could threaten the future of the industry.

Sky News has learnt that ICG, which has owned Buzz Bingo since 2021, has appointed bankers to advise on discussions with potential buyers.

Buzz Bingo trades from more than 75 clubs across the country, employing over 2,000 people.

Sources close to the business said the process was oriented towards securing new investors in Buzz Bingo who would provide fresh investment to accelerate the chain's growth.

Oakvale Capital, the specialist sports and gaming corporate finance advisor, has been drafted in to oversee the process.

Buzz Bingo has been performing strongly in the last 18 months, with admissions and revenues both rising last year for the first time since the smoking ban in venues was introduced in 2007.

The latest data showed that it attracted 190,000 new retail customers in the last financial year, half of whom were aged under 35.

However, the company's chief executive, Dominic Mansour, has been vocal in warning about the impact of continued tax raids on Britain's gaming sector.

"Unless bingo clubs are protected from such reform, the viability of bingo in the UK will be at risk," he was recently reported to have said.

"The numbers for Britain's bingo could truly be up."

His comments came less than a year after Bingo Duty itself was scrapped by Rachel Reeves, the previous chancellor.

Amid speculation that Machine Gaming Duty could be increased in this month's Budget, however, industry bosses have been warning that such a move could make many of their sites unviable.

Mr Mansour wrote recently that a duty hike this month "would mean the closing of clubs and would be a huge risk to jobs".

A previous sale process for Buzz Bingo, run by Nomura in 2023, was ultimately called off.

Buzz Bingo was acquired by ICG from Caledonia Investments for "a nominal sum" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The valuation of the business in a sale was unclear this weekend, and sources insisted that the process was exploratory at this stage.

Prospective bidders are expected to include private equity firms which typically invest in consumer-facing businesses.

Buzz Bingo's revenues in its last financial year rose 11% to £241.4m, with double-digit sales growth across both retail and online channels.

That momentum is understood to have continued during the current financial year, with a 12.4% increase in new retail customers.

A spokesperson for Buzz Bingo declined to comment, while ICG also declined to comment.

(c) Sky News 2026: Numbers up for Buzz Bingo as owner explores sale