Buzz Bingo Hall

• Buzz Bingo Shrewsbury is sat in the centre of this historic town on Castle Gates. The train station is just a stone’s throw away and buses 2, 24, 25, 64, 501, 511, 519, 524 and 576 all stop at the station too. The venue also has dedicated parking on-site for around 30 cars which is surprising considering its location.
• A Buzz Bingo hall in Enfield, London. The company said it would take time for visitor numbers to return to pre-coronavirus levels. Photograph: Buzz Bingo.

Buzz Bingo Ashmore Park is situated in the Wednesfield area of Wolverhampton on Lichfield Road. The venue has dedicated parking for over 50 vehicles and the Canal Bridge bus stop can be found directly outside the entrance that serves the 57, 59 and 60.

Buzz Bingo, formerly Gala Bingo, are the largest bingo hall operator in the country and have revealed plans to leave the doors closed of 26 of their halls across the UK. These closures are part of plans to protect the sustainability of the brand following the corona-virus lock down affecting the leisure and entertainment industry.

The remaining 91 Buzz Bingo halls will still reopen their doors from the 6th August, starting with a staggered opening 12 sites initially in order to ensure the environment is safe and right for their players.

Protecting The Future Of Buzz Bingo Halls

Buzz Bingo, along with other leisure outlets, recognise that footfall and confidence in visiting bingo halls and other leisure and hospitality facilities is currently pretty low.

After the mass pandemic temporary business closures, people want to know they are stepping into a safe and covid free environment. This naturally means footfall into Buzz Bingo halls is inevitably going to be slow and steady to begin with. By making these closures as part of a Company Voluntary Arrangement which will be finalised and fully agreed in meetings on the 3rd August, they hope to secure a long term future for bingo players in their popular bingo halls.

Of course with closures come job losses, with over 570 potential redundancies. Buzz Bingo have looked to reduce costs at all levels; restructuring senior management and furloughing the majority of its 3000+ staff.

Buzz Bingo CEO Chris Matthews issued a personal statement to affected employees:

“We know how disappointing this news will be – especially for those of our customers who are losing their local club, and of course, our colleagues – we know that we are more than just a club, we are part of your community, and for that, I am really sorry.”

Bingo Halls Set To Close:

The twenty six halls earmarked for closure are:

• Chatham
• Salford
• Salisbury
• Banbury
• Boston
• Bournemouth
• Bridlington
• Carlisle
• Chorley
• Cramlington
• Derby Foresters
• Edinburgh Westerhailes
• Harpurhey
• Hereford
• Kilmarnock
• Milton Keynes
• Oxford
• Stockland Green
• Tamworth
• Wednesbury
• Weymouth
• Wigan
• Wolverhampton
• Worcester
• Wythenshawe

Will Bingo Hall Customers Move Online?

Buzz Bingo Halloween

Could Buzz Bingo turn these difficult times around and work hard to market and persuade your typical bingo hall player to become an online bingo player?

There certainly could be new possibilities arising in the virtual world as we move forward in the new normal.

Buzz run their own online site that runs bingo games from virtue fusion. They are heavily reliant on bingo halls though.

Their halls previously belonged to Gala before Gala-Coral and Ladbrokes merged in 2015 and in the process their halls were moved on to a new company, Caledonia Investments, who rebranded as Buzz Bingo in 2018.

Buzz Bingo has announced plans to shut 26 of its clubs with the loss of 570 jobs under a coronavirus crisis rescue deal.

Buzz Group, the UK's largest operator by club numbers ahead of Mecca, said it had been forced into 'difficult decisions' since its entire estate was placed in hibernation at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown.

Chief executive Chris Matthews told members the permanent closures would 'protect the future of Buzz Bingo' as part of a so-called company voluntary arrangement (CVA) restructuring deal.

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The sites to be shut down were listed by the company as in Chatham, Salford, Salisbury, Antelope Park (Southampton), Banbury, Boston, Bournemouth, Bridlington, Carlisle, Chorley, Cramlington, Derby Foresters, Edinburgh Westerhailes, Harpurhey, Hereford, Kilmarnock, Milton Keynes, Oxford Kassam, Stockland Green, Tamworth, Wednesbury, Weymouth, Wigan Robin Park, Wolverhampton, Worcester and Wythenshawe.

Buzz, which also has an online operation, said the 91 other clubs in its estate would continue to trade, with re-openings planned to begin from 6 August at 12 sites initially.

Buzz Bingo Hall Closures

Mr Matthews wrote: 'The ongoing pandemic has had far-reaching consequences for the entire leisure and hospitality sector and an immediate and significant impact on our business.

'Following a thorough review of our options, the proposed CVA will restructure our retail portfolio to ensure we are well positioned for a return to growth, while adapting to the ongoing, challenging environment as we start to reopen the majority of our clubs.'

Buzz Bingo Halls Reopening

He told members affected by the decision: 'We know how disappointing this news will be - especially for those of our customers who are losing their local club, and of course, our colleagues - we know that we are more than just a club, we are part of your community, and for that, I am really sorry.'