A pick up in sales at the Grosvenor chain of casinos helped Rank, the gaming group, report a modest recovery in the fortunes in the last three months of trading.

Like-for-like sales at Grosvenor rose 4 per cent on the back of a higher average handle, or the gross amount of bets taken, while an improved win margin, or the amount the house wins, led to a 16 per cent increase in spend per head. This offset a 12 per cent decline in admissions.