Betfred’s takeover of the Tote will see a new chief executive and all shops rebranded Betfred when the deal is finalized in four weeks time. Fred Done’s company took the Tote victory on Friday and as a result the company will now have 1,350 outlets and a total of 9,000 employees. That is in addition to the on course outlets that will still be carrying the Tote brand.
According to City AM, upon completing the merger, Betfred has assured those working for the Tote that there will be a maximum of 150 redundancies made. Jobs will be cut from head office instead of the legion of shops. Done won’t be staying on as chief executive. Although he will be chairman of the group, the banks that financed the deal have insisted that a new chief executive is appointed. Martin Broughton anyone?
Betfred finance director, Barry Nightingale, told the Manchester Evening News, “We truly believe this is the best deal for the staff, the industry, racecourses and all component parts and we cannot wait to get started.
“We will not officially take over until the completion process is done in four to six weeks’ time, when we will start our planning in more detail, but in the meantime we will be engaging as best we can with everyone concerned.
“We have contacted the Tote management and spoken to chief executive Trevor Beaumont, and he has welcomed us in for a look around and early dialogue.”
The loose ends are still to be tied and it’s understood that when they are, the company will look seriously at international expansion. The new company has ambitions to grow the business and improve pool liquidity in locations such as France, South Africa and Hong Kong. This is obviously in addition to breathing life into the existing business.
