Bingo club closes in Wellingborough

It’s always sad to report the closure of a bingo club, although not too unusual in these difficult times. The latest casualty is the Lyric Bingo club in Wellingborough, which has been forced to close it’s doors after a combination of high overheads and low trading figures. We hope to see a new bingo sites come up from the ashes.

The club was in the town centre and was both owned and managed by Tony Wood, a former Gala bingo manager. Despite all his best efforts the overheads were just too much, especially the rent, business rates and the service charge. The closure will mean that the 12 staff members will now be looking for new jobs and many bingo players will be looking for a new club.

Tony Wood has been in charge of the club for 3 years, before that the Lyric was owned and operated by John Wiley and Brent Harding. It is unlikely that the club will re-open, as small clubs like this only have a slim potential profit margin so are not sought after by the large operators. There are not many owner operators around, and anyone thinking about entering the market will probably be put off once they realise that a new licence is quite expensive.

Tony Wood wrote on the Lyric website; “Sad to say, the days of Bingo in Wellingborough have come to an end. I would like to say thank you to all the staff who have kept the club together over the last three years. Barbi has been there 22 years, so for her this has come as shock, but not unexpected”.

Related bingo news:

1. Halifax is home to new bingo club
2. Bingo club escapes fire
3. Bingo club may become cinema
4. Buckingham Bingo Halls are feeling the Pinch
5. Manchester’s Buckingham Bingo shuts down