Chain: Carlton Bingo (Lost Halls)
While Carlton Bingo continues to operate ten clubs across Scotland today, the chain’s history since its formation in 1998 has also included a significant number of closures with former venues no longer trading under the Carlton name. As with many Scottish and UK bingo operators, this reflects the wider consolidation the industry has undergone over the past few decades, as changing entertainment habits, rising costs, and shifts in town-centre footfall have made some smaller or older venues unviable.
Carlton Bingo grew out of the bingo interests of Taylor Clark Limited, bought out in 1998 by George Carter, Chris Barr, Brian King and Peter Perrins, and its estate has evolved considerably since. Some clubs were purpose-built additions, like the Dunfermline venue that replaced an earlier 1960s club on Canmore Street, while others occupied older, characterful buildings — Carlton Bingo Partick, for instance, was previously one of Glasgow’s most popular dance halls. It’s likely that some of the chain’s closed venues followed a similar pattern: older buildings, cinema or dance hall conversions, or clubs that simply couldn’t be sustained as the retail bingo market contracted.
The Covid-19 pandemic also placed significant strain on the business, with at least one club closed for as long as 400 days during the crisis, highlighting the pressures faced across the chain during this period, even as the wider company ultimately recovered strongly, going on to become one of the UK’s first bingo operators to move to full Employee Ownership Trust status in March 2022.
