Ladbrokes in Italian sale
LADBROKES has agreed to sell its Italian retail betting and gaming business Itali for €5.25m (£4.61m).
Italian gaming group Cogetech will take over the business after its cash offer was accepted.
In 2009 the Labrokes’ Italian retail business made a loss of £9.9m and at 31 December 2009 the carrying value of the business was €26.7m.
The business consists of its head office in Milan and 82 shops.
Ladbrokes decided to quit the Italian market last August after revenues failed to meet expectations.
The sale comes after the appointment of chief executive Richard Glynn at Ladbrokes last month who wants to focus on generating revenues from the company’s online division. The firm has an average of 45,000 online customers every day.
Under the deal, Cogetech will also assume responsibility for about €18m of guarantees currently provided by Ladbrokes.
Last month Ladbrokes signed a deal with French pay-TV station Canal+ under which it will seek to attract gamblers directly to its website and through its partner’s television channels. Labrokes also has interests in Belgium and Spain.
William Hill also sold its Italian unit in 2008 to Turkish rival Intralot for €5.5m.