BAR takings at Burnley Mechanics are heading for a frothy £62,000 operating profit for the year, councillors have been told.

But the performance of the centre's catering section will be harder to digest, with a £17,000 loss in prospect for the 12 months ending on March 31.

The building cleaning section will make around £5,000 for the year. It all amounts to the council's direct services set-up at the Mechanics making a year-end operating surplus of £50,000.

But when rent costs are taken off the figure, the bottom line profit is just about £1,568. Bar turnover approached a quarter of a million pounds during the period, with costs around £70,000. The catering section had sales of £78,000, but profits were dwarfed by net costs of £60,000.

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