Bet365 set to create 600 new jobs after unveiling plans to move from their current home in Festival Park, to a brand new office complex in Forge Lane Etruria
After pre tax profits from online gambling increased by more than 50% last year, the UK online gambling giant Bet365 has decided to treat itself to a set of shiny new offices that will see them create 600 jobs over the next decade.
The Coates family has decided to move lock, stock and 2,200 smoking barrels from their headquarters in Festival Park in Stoke-on-Trent, to a brand new facility that is to be built in Forge Lane, Etruria, in a move that will see the online gambling company spending millions of pounds in development costs.
The company’s 2,200 strong workforce is the largest single employer in the Potteries, and the news that they are set to create even more jobs has gone down well in the city with a corporate footprint of 249,000 people. The 13,000 square meter office suites will double the size of the existing facilities in Festival Park.
Bet365 joint chief executive Denise Coates said: “We are proud to be the largest private sector employer in Stoke-on-Trent so we like to think this is good news for us and good news for the city.
“At the moment we contribute over £80 million annually into the economy in terms of staff wages, so it’s a significant amount being invested in the area in terms of those wages. Other businesses will also benefit.
“We have reached the stage where we have outgrown our existing offices and it’s important for us to proceed with this project which will enable us to continue to base ourselves in the area, taking account of both our existing workforce and planned future growth.”
Bet365 is one of the only major online gambling companies that decided to retain its base in the UK after the publication of the Gambling Act 2005, and in 2012 they paid £20.3m in corporation tax, with betting duty and VAT taking the total tax bill to £130m.
It’s hoped that the demolition work will start next summer and the staff will move into the new block early 2016. It’s unknown what will happen to the current facilities in Festival Park.
