Page 7 - Stakis A Case Study

By 1977 the company had 26 hotels, 32 old-world inns or
restaurants, several public houses, eight casinos and some

betting shops. Most of these establishments were in

Scotland although there were hotels in Leeds, Nottingham

and Bradford. In addition they had acquired D and A

Haddow, a Scottish wholesale and retail wine and spirit

merchant.

The turnover was £38 million with hotels and catering still

accounting for the major share. The group employed over

4,000 people and the acquisition of Haddows, their largest

purchase up to that time, indicated an intention to expand
further. Indeed, the annual report for that year reaffirmed

a major aim of becoming a market leader in the liquor

off-licence business and identified acquisition as the route

by which this would be achieved. Prior to this it had

operated several off-licences as what it saw as a logical

consequence of its involvement in public houses. These

were integrated into a separate Wines and Spirits Division

with Haddows.

The company was also acquiring casinos and by 1981 it

operated 17, the largest number owned by any business in
the United Kingdom. Stakis, no doubt aware that it was not

unknown for casinos to lose their licences, was determined

to ensure as wholesome an image as possible for its casino

businesses and saw as one of the means to this end the

introduction of a graduate management training scheme.