by Renee Israel
Top Irish bookmaker, Boylesports and leading UK rival, William Hill have
announced a deal that will see William Hill sell its remaining 15 betting
shops in Ireland to Boylesports for €1.5 million.
William Hill has been closing its Irish betting shops since 2009. The deal is
expected to be finalised in December and Boylesports expects that the shops will
be re-branded and integrated into its network by the middle of December.
With its latest acquisitions, Boylesports will have a total of 176 betting
shops throughout Ireland, which provide employment for 1,100 people. The
purchase of William Hill's remaining 15 Irish betting outlets has reportedly
saved 65 jobs.
Speaking about the acquisition, John Boyle, CEO of Boylesports said, "We are
delighted to announce that we will be acquiring 15 new shops and saving an
additional 65 jobs."
"Times are difficult for everyone in these recessionary times and we at
Boylesports are thrilled that we can help save jobs and continue to show our
commitment to the Irish retail betting industry."
"The latest takeover will complement our existing shops and further cement
our position as the largest independent bookmaker in Ireland."
William Hill Chooses Online and Mobile Betting
Of Will Hill's original 51 betting shops in Ireland, it initially sold 16
that were under performing, and then closed 20 more outlets in 2010 and the
first half of 2011, and now Boylesports will buy the remaining 15.
William Hill operates more than 2,300 outlets in Britain and it did not
consider it viable to operate only 15 shops in the Republic.
Brian McColgan, Regional Operations Controller at William Hill stated, "The
time came for us to either expand our retail estate in Ireland or to concentrate
our efforts on our thriving Irish online and mobile betting businesses. We took
a lot of time to consider our options and decided the restrictive nature of the
Irish retail betting sector would have made expansion financially unviable."
William Hill originally entered the Republic in 2005 with its acquisition of
Stanley Leisure's British and Irish bookmakers. Since that time, the UK land and
online bookmaker has been focusing on the development of its online and mobile
operations.
Boylesports now owns retail outlets throughout Ireland from Dublin city
centre to Galway. It is purchasing the outlets at prices that are near the
bottom of the market. The Irish gaming firm offers telephone, online and retail
betting operations.
