Landing International to increase Les Ambassadeurs Club’s focus on Asian VIPs

The new owners of London’s high-end gaming venue Les Ambassadeurs Club plan to focus the business even more on the Asian high-roller market.

On Friday, property developer Landing International Development Ltd filed papers with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange detailing its upcoming April 27 special general meeting, at which shareholders will be asked to approve the company’s £137m acquisition of the Les A venue, which the company originally announced last December.

Landing told shareholders that Les A currently holds a 36% share of London’s high roller table drop and around 27% in terms of attendance. Landing notes that until 2011, the Middle East was the largest geographical source of the Club’s VIP clientele, but Asian clients claimed the majority (50.3%) of the Club’s customer base in 2015, while the Middle East category slipped to just under 37%.

Landing notes that an increased reliance on Chinese VIPs comes with its own set of challenges, including Beijing’s anti-corruption campaign, which means some VIPs “may not be willing to provide all required personal information” for the Club’s due diligence process.