Trocadero gears up for Giant Drop

Trocadero, the leisure company spun off from property group Burford, said it was to open three new attractions at its central London Pepsi Trocadero indoor complex, including a free-fall ride.

The Giant Drop will haul passengers up 125 feet in a small cabin before plunging them in free-fall towards the ground until electro-magnetic brakes bring the cabin to a halt.

Trocadero said it was seeking a sponsor for the pounds 2m Giant Drop, which it said would be the first indoor free-fall ride of its kind in the world. It is under construction in Switzerland and is due to be opened in summer.

The company also said it was opening a pounds 5m Rainforest Cafe, featuring live and animated wildlife and special effects, and a pounds 5m Imax 3D cinema.

It said these latest investments followed a pounds 50m refurbishment programme and last September's opening of the Segaworld indoor theme park, which occupies the top five floors of the building.

Trocadero, listed on the Alternative Investment Market, was one of the fledgling market's strongest performers in the early part of last year.

Company Results

Turnover pounds Pre-tax pounds EPS Dividend

AIM Group (I) 36.1m (24.3m) 2.80m (1.28m) 15.3p (7.2p) 3p (1.5p)

Atlantic Telecom (I) 4.01m (4.89m) 0.30m (-0.40m) 0.20p (-0.27p) nil (nil)

Birkby (I) 28.8m (27.2m) 6.26m (3.82m) 7.4p (6.3p) 2.3p (2.2p)

Bucknall Group (I) 17.2m (13.1m) 0.35m (0.26m) 1.2p (1p) 0.25p (0.5p)

Deb Tewson & Chinnocks (I) 30.3m (27.8m) 1.86m (0.94m) 2.44p (1.22p) 0.9p (0.6p)

Denmans Electrical (F) 50.9m (50.7m) 2.42m (3.02m) 9.06p (11.19p) 2.1p (-)

Gresham Computing (F) 9.27m (7.89m) 1.68m (1.28m) 3.15p (2.36p) 0.5p (-)

Matthew Clark (I) 293m (174m) 21.6m (15.4m) 16.8p (22.6p) 9p (9p)

Quality Care Homes (F) 22.1m (17.0m) 5.61m (4.80m) 33.3p (27.4p) 5.4p (4.9p)

Recognition Systems (F) 0.32m (0.67m) -1.26m (-0.40m) -5.5p (-2.1p) nil (nil)

Stockbourne (I) 1.25m (1.09m) -0.76m (1.01m) -0.45p (-0.63p) nil (nil)

UNO (I) 18.4m (8.97m) -0.51m (-0.38m) -4.42p (-2.71p) 1.5p (-)

VHE Holdings (I) 20.1m (17.2m) 1.01m (1.20m) 2.1p (2.5p) nil (-)

(F) - Final (I) - Interim () figures for 6 mths to 30/09/97 proforma