Betfred sets out Tote’s future
SENIOR executives from Betfred will meet with management from the Tote this week to set out the future direction of the company.
The bookmaker has assured Tote staff that no more than 150 redundancies will be made when the two firms merge, with jobs instead being cut from head office over the next 12 months.
The executives will discuss plans to re-brand the Tote’s betting shops as Betfred and will agree to allow the betting pool’s racecourse sites to remain Tote branded.
Led by founder Fred Done, Betfred has ambitions of expanding the Tote pool on an international scale. Done is said to be keen on improving pool liquidity in markets like France, South Africa and Hong Kong, as well as breathing life into the existing operation.
Betfred is set to finalise its bid for the Tote within four weeks, and will hold further meetings with the government to tie up loose ends.
The enlarged company will have 1,350 stores and 9,000 employees.
The hunt is now on for a new chief executive for the company, on the insistence of the banks financing the deal. Done will remain chairman of the company.
Betfred’s £265m bid beat a rival offer from former Liverpool Football Club chairman Sir Martin Broughton’s Sports Investment Partners last week.
Although Betfred was the initial favourite, its eventual triumph came as a surprise. Sir Martin’s bid had appeared to take pole position in recent weeks, thanks to support from a powerful lobby of racing industry bodies.