At the end of 2002, Crown Sports was a shambolic venture, mired in huge losses of over £6m and nearly £36m of debt. It had 22 Dragons health clubs, 27 Fitness Express management contracts, an Australian publishing business, golf clubs and a horse betting business. These days, under chief executive Martyn Grealey, the company has its full attention on Dragons after radical restructuring. Calendar 2003 saw the group ditch Crown Golf, Aussie misfit Crown Content, The Winning Line, an ill-fitting club in Leamington Spa, and Fitness Express. The net result, in some very tough markets, was that 2003 numbers showed a small operating profit despite a £3m exceptional hit on disposals and a 50% drop in debt to £18m. Despite pressure on joining fees and marketing competition from rivals, the Dragons clubs turned over a respectable £22.6m (£24.6m) and underlying operating profits perked up 32% to £3.7m thanks to overhead cutbacks and a tight reign on club costs. In the first quarter of 2004 it experienced an 11% jump in new members (on a like-for-like basis). The coming months will see the group switch to AIM, reorganise its share capital to eliminate the deficit on the profit and loss account and, hopefully, pay a dividend again. In a competitive market, Crown remains compelling, although very speculative.