The acquisition of two UK bingo clubs by Buzz Bingo, including the nation’s largest in Cricklewood, has been completed.
The Merkur venues, in Cricklewood and Northampton, were both formerly owned by the Gauselmann family. The Times reported that “industry sources pointed to a likely figure” of between £15m and £20m for the two sites.
Together, the two Merkur venues welcomed 410,000 visitors in 2023 and on average, paid out over £1m in winnings every month. The Cricklewood club also holds the Guinness World Record for paying out the largest single bingo house prize of all time at £100,000.
The move coincides with the recent opening of Buzz’s first “boutique” high street club aimed at a younger demographic in Borehamwood. The club opened last month and has already performed ahead of expectations in its first few weeks.
“There is a huge and growing number of people playing bingo for the first time, and through our fun and digitally enabled retail sites we are building a new fanbase of Buzz Bingo customers,” said Dominic Mansour, chief executive, Buzz Bingo.
“The completion of this acquisition alongside the trial of our new streaming concept is clear evidence of the positive momentum within Buzz and the successful delivery of our turn-around plan.
“Our omnichannel strategy uniquely positions us to leverage the best of both retail and online Bingo for our customers, as we continue our journey to become the nation’s number-one choice for Bingo.”