Mecca Bingo’s parent company has cut its earnings targets after it saw customer numbers weaken across its venues last month.

Rank Group saw shares drop after bosses said this weaker performance continued into the start of April.

John O’Reilly, chief executive of Rank, said: “The performance of our venues softened in March, and this has continued into the first few weeks of Q4, impacting our current expectations for our full-year performance.

“We recognise the pressures on UK consumers but are confident that the improvements we are continuing to make to the customer proposition and the investments in our venues, alongside the gradually reducing impact of the pandemic and, with it, the return of overseas customers, position us well for the year ahead.”