Ladbrokes hails digital growth as revenue climbs in Q3

Ladbrokes has cited growth in its digital business as one of the main reasons behind a rise in revenue in the third quarter, while Boylesports has said it will review the sale of Ladbrokes and Coral shops to Betfred and Stan James.

Group net revenue at Ladbrokes was up 12.1% in the three-month period, with UK retail net revenue climbing 1.9% year-on-year.

Digital net revenue jumped 48.2% in the third quarter, with Ladbrokes.com plus exchanges recording a 32.7% increase in revenue.

Revenue from Ladbrokes’ digital sportsbook business was up by 47.9%, with the bookmaker’s digital gaming arm also seeing revenue rise by 23.7% year-on-year.

Ladbrokes also noted that its Australia business witnessed significant growth in the third quarter, with revenue for this operation hiking by 89.6%, while European retail net revenue also climbed 11.3%.

Jim Mullen, chief executive of Ladbrokes, said: “We've emerged from a busy summer of sport with more evidence that our strategy of appealing to the recreational customer is delivering growth and we remain confident of delivering full year results in line with our expectations.

“Across all our key pillars we have been encouraged by the customer reaction.

“These results have been achieved by a group of colleagues whose commitment to delivering Ladbrokes' Plan A has been all the more impressive given the ongoing work towards completion of our merger with Coral.

“Following our agreement to sell 359 shops subject to CMA approval, we are close to completion of the deal and look forward to the opportunities it will bring to customers, colleagues and shareholders.”

However, the decision by Ladbrokes and Gala Coral to sell shops to Betfred and Stan James has come under fire from Boylesports, which said it will consider taking action.

Boylesports was one of a number of brands that expressed an interest in acquiring the shops, although Ladbrokes and Gala Coral yesterday (Monday) said a deal had been done to sell the outlets to Betfred and Stan James.

The sale came in response to a demand from the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which said the pending merger between Ladbrokes and Coral could create competition issues in various locations across the UK.

In a statement, Boylesports said it was “disappointed” with the decision, adding that it will register its own concerns with the CMA.

Boylesports said: “The BoyleSports bid was higher than the reported sale price, was fully-funded, was cognisant of the changing political and regulatory UK landscape, and could have been completed within two weeks of acceptance.

“BoyleSports believes the decision not to allow a challenger brand onto the UK high street is bad for retail consumers who would have benefited from the keen pricing and excellent service already available to our existing Irish retail customers and to online customers in Ireland and the UK.

“BoyleSports will be communicating its concerns to the CMA and is reviewing its options on what other steps may be open to us.”

Related article: Ladbrokes and Coral sell betting shops to Betfred, Stan James