There’s never a dull moment in Fred Done’s business world. And as he tells Michael Taylor, even at 67, he’s still a fast mover willing to change to stay ahead.
Let’s get one thing out of the way. Fred Done is not a Red Knight. The Salford-born bookie has
been approached by the rebel Manchester United fans hoping to buy the club, and while he shares their frustration, he is not one of the shadowy Red Knights willing to form a consortium to buy the Old Trafford club from the hated Glazer family.
“I’ve been asked on three occasions to join the Red Knights and the answer has always been no,” he says. “I don’t want to mix my business with my pleasure. If I did it, then it would be on our own; me and my brother Peter. I have no desire to join a consortium.
“Let the Glazers get on with it, I say. They are sucking the club dry. They will leave the club in a worse state than when they bought it and I’m gloomy about the future. But I would take their call if they wanted to talk because I’m a polite man.
“David Gill and Sir Alex Ferguson are the best in the business at what they do. I wouldn’t ever want to change them. But they are hamstrung by the money situation. We are picking up crumbs from the rich man’s table, from Chelsea and now from Manchester City. And in the next five years City will be the premier team in Manchester.”
Though the pleasure he gets from sitting in his main stand seats at Old Trafford may be dimmed in the future, he isn’t standing still on making some changes to his expanding business portfolio. Business is going to be tough for a few more years and hard work will be the order of the day, he says.
“On the economy, we’re in for a torrid time over the next five years. It’s going to be a horrible time, but the optimist in me says there are going to be opportunities. I’ve backed some young companies and some will be big successes. But everyone’s going to have to work a bit harder, get up a bit earlier and dig for the worms.”
In the past two years he’s taken on Barry Nightingale as group finance director, a dry Boltonian who worked in a similar role for Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
“It was a weakness of mine not to have a finance director. I thought a book keeper was sufficient. Barry was brought in and he’s virtually reorganised the business. I lean on him a lot, he’s the helicopter hovering over the business. If we were to do something big I would ask Barry. I used to go into battle with the banks on my own. Now I take Barry.”
And that has been a function of the times. “Over the past couple of years the most important man running any business has been the finance director,” Done says. “I’m optimistic about everything but Barry runs a critical eye over things. If you’re an entrepreneur then you have be optimistic.”
That added experience has enabled Done to create an online business based in Gibraltar, for regulatory purposes, which also has a different ownership structure – Done family trusts, essentially. It’s not a subsidiary and it licences services from the group.
The migration to online was something the business was slow to move on, but Done sees a definite move away from shops in his business model, just as other betting businesses are.
“It’s difficult to say – the weaker shops are going to the wall already. There are about 10,000 betting shops in this country. That will fall to 8,000 and they will be in the hands of four players – William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral and Betfred. Gambling legislation, opening hours and red tape are killing the independent bookmakers.”
He has invested in the brand as well as the economies of scale for the network. For instance, shops have to have advanced technology, satellite TV and fixed odds betting terminals, so Done has invested £8m in new machines for the shops.
“This industry used to be sexy and attracted all sorts,” he says. “Now the chickens are coming home to roost. It’s like the property sector. Everyone used to say they were into property. Now it’s just the professionals who know what they’re doing who are left standing.”
And on the high street, once the mainstay of the business, the strategy has shifted. Where once a shop was located near a pub and a chip shop, that no longer applies.
“We rely less on the pubs for trade now. It’s a waste of time; they’re closing or they’re dead. The only ones doing well are Wetherspoons. They have got it right, but no-one else has. When we do London, we do development near the tube stations.”
But as well as the demographic change in the way the business is run, Done is also refocusing the business away from taking bets on horse racing, a trend that has been steady but is now accelerating.
“Racing is in the doldrums. The authorities don’t help themselves. They are anti-bookmaker – and without bookmakers there would be no racing. Who on earth would watch horse racing without having a bet? You look at racing in France and Dubai, nobody goes. You need gambling in racing or there’s no point.
“It’s not a young person’s sport. The average age of the Jockey Club is about 97. I’m no chicken, but at least I try something new. They don’t want to change. I’ll give you an example. There is no racing on Good Friday, and everyone’s off work, but it’s one of the most boring days of the year. Our shops do alright, but they don’t do racing.”
The racecourses now make their money from pop concerts and conferences, he says, and he’s baffled as to what can make it work.
“I’ve lost interest in racing to be honest with you.”
Football continues to grow for the betting business, though, and his enthusiasm for the twists and turns of the game still thrill him.
“We had the worst Grand National in 25 years, and the worst Royal Ascot in my career, yet the World Cup has been brilliant for us. We couldn’t take money on Spain at 7/2. And we’ve got it just right. We had a single each-way bet off a punter on Uruguay at 150/1. That would have cost me £150,000 if they’d got to the final. And it ruins the game for me. When we unwind it all I reckon we’ll clear £3m in profit from the World Cup.
But the real action in betting now is in-play betting – after the event has started – “which you can’t do with a three-minute horse race,” he adds.
“We take 80 per cent of our bets on the Open Championship [golf] after the play has started. It’s the same for tennis and snooker. It’s the exciting sexy future of betting and punters will have more than one bet.”
For a man of his years he hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for the business, or his taste for success. But he also likes working with people with his drive and his shared love of a deal. And you can’t help feeling there’s more to come.
Also in: August 2010
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Wayne's World
In a new book on the rise of Manchester United and England footballer Wayne Rooney, investigative journalist John Sweeney lifts the lid on the murky world beneath. Jamie Kenny caught up with him.
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Get used to these new times
It is always worth listening to Fred Done. In our long discussion the Salford-born bookie says many wise things. He sees trends on the high street, he detects cultural shifts at an early stage. And he gets most calls right when it comes to sporting matters.