Sports and leisure club operator Crown's full-year figures to December were hit by £19.4m of exceptionals, which dragged the group into a £14.8m pre-tax loss (£200,000 profit). As part of its strategy to achieve 250,000 members, Crown took stakes in rivals Esporta and Clubhaus with the aim of eventually taking control of them. Crown has written down the value of these stakes by a combined £7m to £11.6m. Elsewhere, the firm wrote down the value of horse-racing telephone betting arm the Winning Line and publishing business Crown Content by £3.1m because their products were not attractive enough to club members. These one-off hits masked a strong operational performance by Crown, which is 'unrecognisable' from the business that existed at the end of 2000. Seven businesses were integrated in 2001 and, excluding exceptionals, the group performed well. Pre-tax profits rose from £400,000 to £4.5m, operating profits jumped to £6.5m (£1m) and turnover leapt from £3.5m to £31.6m on the back of a 117% rise in membership to 76,000. Knight said each of the club businesses acquired - Fitness Express, Axis and Trainstation - met expectations and enhanced earnings. He also admitted: 'We're in discussions with [other] potential targets.' The shares, which fell by 0.75p to 12.5p, are trading well below their year-end net asset value of 21p. They make for an interesting punt.