SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
The Manchester Evening News newspaper has reported that gaming operator Betfred is preparing to further expand after a strong performance in 2014, which has seen the company record a profit surge of almost £70 million (€83 million/$114.3 million).
The Manchester based newspaper reports that Betfred posted a record revenue of £8 billion, a 16.5% increase on the £6.7 billion revenues reported by Betfred in 2012. The surge in gaming revenue had a positive impact on the operator, who managed to maintain it’s gaming handle and operational margins, further recording a pre-tax profit of £69 million. The profit figure represents a 30% increase from 2012 £53 million pre-tax profit figures. Betfreds performance has seen the company reduce its debt by £43 million to £213 million.
Betfred reported an increase in pre-tax profits contributed by its online gaming division – Betfred.com, which saw a growth of of 42% from £4.6 million to £6.6 million. Additionally the figures published by Betfred, are the first since the operators acquisition of former state-owned bookmaking business Tote in 2011, for a reported £265 million figure.
The positive figures contributed by Betfred has seen the operator expand its work force in the UK by around 400 new employees, totalling a workforce of 10,000 people across both land based and digital divisions. Betfred with its acquisition of Tote Bookmakers now operates 1,375 real estate betting shops. Reports from the Manchester Evening News state that the operator is looking to add to its portfolio, both online and offline, with a reported plan to open 30 new betting shops and to create a further 160 jobs in the process.
Fred Done founder of Betfred commented on the reported figures – “We are very excited about the future and are positive about the outlook for the business,”
