Rank Group - fraud in Spain could offer cheap buying opportunity

Mark Watson-Mitchell - 22.12.2025

The Rank Group (LON:RNK) has this morning reported that it has been impacted by a fraud in its Spanish interests, to the value of some €7.1m.

The news could well hit the shares in the market today, if it does have an impact, with them dropping by up to 20% or so, then I would suggest that 'cheap buyers' - who recognise the value of the group's equity - will pounce on the stock taking advantage of the Spanish hit.

This Morning's News

Rank declared that its Spanish businesses, Enracha and Yo, have been the victim of a payment fraud, which in aggregate has totalled approximately €7.1m.

The business has reported the matter to the relevant law enforcement agencies and is supporting their investigations, as well as carrying out its own internal investigation with the help of an external law firm.

Impact?

Given the exceptional nature of this incident, Rank expects to treat the financial impact as a Separately Disclosed Item in relation to its 2025/26 performance.

Broker's View

Analyst Greg Johnson, at Shore Capital Markets, stated that Rank is due to report its Interim results on Thursday, 29th January.

"We expect the results to show continued strong momentum and the first benefits from land-based casino reform, which we believe is transformational to the outlook for Rank, having previously set out the potential for operating profit to build to £100m (EPS: 16p).

A target we believe remains achievable despite the recent stepchange in remote gaming duty, and yet to be reflected in the valuation. House Stock."

My View

The shares, which closed at 105p on Friday night, could well be slashed up to 20p on this news - if that happens, then they could well offer a massive buying opportunity.