London Clubs continues to work on new loans

Monday, July 1, 2002 | 11:01 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

LONDON -- London Clubs International Plc, a U.K. casino owner that expanded into Las Vegas with poor results, said its lenders will continue to waive breaches of the company's bank covenants as it negotiates new facilities.

The company, in a statement on the Regulatory News Service, didn't say how long the waiver will last, Bloomberg News reported.

London Clubs breached the covenants last year after majority-owned Aladdin Gaming LLC filed for Chapter 11 protection in the United States.

The Las Vegas casino's revenue fell after the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States.

That was the latest blow to Aladdin, which analysts say was saddled with high-cost debt, had earlier failed to properly market itself to gamblers and had a disfunctional design that discouraged Las Vegas Strip pedestrians from entering the casino to gamble.

Shares in London Clubs, which slumped 68 percent in the past 12 months, fell 0.75 pence, or 5.3 percent, to 13.5p on Friday.