Billionaire Michael Spencer buys stake in The Tote
Billionaire Michael Spencer is set to buy a substantial minority stake in the soon-to-be parent company of The Tote bookmaker.
The financial services entrepreneur will buy a 10 per cent stake in the recently formed Alizeti consortium, which is poised to buy The Tote from betting giant Betfred.
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Betfred sold an initial stake in The Tote to Alizeti last year and is currently working on finalising the sale of the remaining 75 per cent.
Alizeti confirmed the deal would be complete by the end of the month and that Spencer would indeed acquire a 10 per cent share.
Spencer was the founder of financial services firm ICAP, which was sold for almost £4bn last year.
The City tycoon is estimated to be worth £1.5bn.
Sky News reports that Spencer will pay about £10m for the stake in Alizeti and that he believes that The Tote can be transformed by investing more in data and technology.
Alizeti is made up of a group of horse racing breeders and owners, and are operating under the name Together for the Tote.
It has the support of a number of leading racing figures, including trainer John Gosden OBE and jockey Frankie Dettori.
The Tote currently has a 4 per cent share of the UK’s pool-betting market, but its new owners reportedly believe this could grow substantially with further investment.
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Alizeti announced a seven-year deal for The Tote last year with Britbet, which has on-course betting at 55 UK racecourses.
The deal will see those racecourses getting £50m, while The Tote and Britbet will combine to offer a single pool on races at those locations.