Rank Group gave hope to investors that it would weather the downturn after beating several analysts’ full-year earnings forecasts for 2008, and reporting that trading has been holding up since the start of the year.

However, revenues fell from £534.4m to £522.2m, and pre-tax profit fell from £7.1m in 2007 – after it benefited from the sale of its Hard Rock business – to a loss of £26.1m in 2008.