Gala leaves Tote chase
Bookmaker Gala Coral has bowed out of the race to buy the Tote. According to reports, the Nottingham-headquartered company failed to submit a formal bid to purchase the state-owned bookie chain by the 25 March deadline. Gala had previously been one of the favourites to snap up the Wigan-headquartered Tote.
According to reports this morning, Gala failed to submit a bid after concerns over current trading levels at the Tote and pension liabilities. Four companies are now thought to be left in the competition to buy the bookmaker.
The four potential buyers include Betfred, a bid from British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton and property expert group, the Reuben Brothers. The final bid is thought to come from the company itself, through its vehicle The Tote Foundation.
Betfred, based in Warrington, has already vowed to limit job cuts, should it be successful in its bid.
John Penrose, government minister for heritage and tourism, confirmed earlier this year that “in the event that the Tote is sold on the open market, [the government] will honour the commitment of the previous government to share 50 per cent of the net cash proceeds of sale with racing”.
The sale of the Tote would end a long-running saga in the racing industry, with a sale first mooted in the late 1980s. The bookmaker is estimated to be worth between £150m and £200m. It has more than 3,300 staff and 500 shops in the UK.
Lazards is handling the sale of the Tote.
The Gala Coral group, which includes casinos, bingo clubs and online betting sites, racked up sales of £1.2bn for the year ending 25 September 2010.
Gala Coral has so far not commented on the speculation.
