ICG has hired Oakvale Capital to look for a buyer for Buzz Bingo, the Nottingham-based operator of more than 75 bingo halls. The chain grew revenue 11% to £241m in its 2025 financial year. ICG bought it in March 2021 for an undisclosed sum.
Buzz Bingo is Britain's largest bingo hall operator and runs clubs across the country. It also has an online games business.
The sale process was first reported by Sky News. ICG and Buzz Bingo declined to comment.
The numbers
Buzz Bingo's revenue reached £241m in the 2025 financial year, up 11%. Both the halls and the online games business grew by double digits.
Last year was the first time since the 2007 indoor smoking ban that both admissions and revenue rose. The company signed up 190,000 new retail customers, and half of them were under 35.
Halls that had been refurbished grew admissions 20% faster than the group as a whole. They also attracted 49% more new customers.
The deal
ICG, the London-based asset manager, has owned Buzz Bingo since March 2021. Terms of that purchase were never disclosed.
Oakvale Capital, a corporate finance adviser that specialises in sport and leisure, is running the process. No asking price or target valuation has been reported. ICG is looking for a buyer that would put in fresh capital to refurbish more clubs and improve the customer experience.
That framing matters for valuation. A buyer would be paying for a business that has turned around, and committing to spend more on the estate after completion.
The Budget risk
The sale is happening as the industry faces a possible tax rise. Healey has been urged to double machine games duty on slot machines from 20% to 40%, a change that could raise up to £458m.
Buzz Bingo chief executive Dominic Mansour warned last month that bingo's viability in the UK would be at risk unless clubs were protected from the change.
The wider sector is already under pressure. Entain, the FTSE 250 owner of Ladbrokes, recently said it planned to cut about 400 jobs, blaming rising costs.
What's next
Bidders will be pricing a business with a clear turnaround in revenue and admissions. They will also be pricing exposure to a tax decision that will not be settled until the Budget.
How quickly ICG moves, and whether bidders ask for protection linked to the Budget outcome, will show how much of that risk buyers are willing to take on.
Original source: Sky News — https://news.sky.com/story/numbers-up-for-buzz-bingo-as-owner-explores-sale-13597686 (detail via City AM — https://www.cityam.com/britains-biggest-bingo-chain-explores-sale-despite-tax-raid-threat/)
