Arena Racing Company (“ARC”) is pleased to announce the appointments of Bradley Hunt as Chief Finance Officer and Alex Slade as General Counsel. Both are new roles within ARC, forming part of the senior management team of the company.
Bradley Hunt joins ARC from Collinson Group, where he is currently Finance Director, having formerly undertaken similar senior roles in the global technology, media and financial service sectors, including Cinime, Pias Entertainment Group and Rapp Ltd. As ARC CFO, Bradley will oversee all financial affairs of the company and its subsidiaries.
As General Counsel, Alex Slade will lead on all elements of corporate governance and legal affairs. Alex will join ARC from Eleven Sports Network where he is currently Head of Legal. Previously he was Head of Legal (Sport) at BT Sport and Legal Counsel at Nickelodeon UK Ltd.
In addition to his executive experience, Alex currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of the British Judo Association and is an Advisory Board member of leading international legal publication, LawInSport.
Both of these new senior roles will report in to ARC Chief Executive Martin Cruddace and the Board. Elsewhere within the ARC senior management team, Corporate Development Director Kevin Robertson has been appointed Managing Director (Media and International). His responsibilities will include product delivery to online and international partners, as well as management of ARC subsidiaries including Vermantia and i-neda.
On the appointments of Bradley Hunt and Alex Slade, ARC Chief Executive Martin Cruddace commented, “The appointments of Bradley and Alex represent a significant step forward for ARC as an organisation, as we position ourselves for sustainable, long term growth.
“They will both bring significant strengths and experience to our senior management team, which will be of huge benefit across all areas of the company. We are always striving to approach future challenges head on and these recent appointments, along with the now complete restructure, will allow us to do this.”
For more information about ARC, please visit www.arenaracingcompany.co.uk.
About ARC:
Arena Racing Company (“ARC”) is the largest racecourse operator in the UK. In 2020 ARC Group racecourses will host 572 fixtures with 1.2 million people attending racing at one of ARC’s racecourses each year.
ARC is made up of the following sixteen racecourses: Bath, Brighton, Chepstow, Doncaster, Ffos Las, Fontwell Park, Great Yarmouth, Hereford, Lingfield Park, Newcastle, Royal Windsor, Sedgefield, Southwell, Uttoxeter, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
ARC runs four of the six all-weather racecourses in the UK offering three different types of surface for horses to run on: Polytrack at Lingfield Park, fibresand at Southwell Racecourse and tapeta at Newcastle and Wolverhampton Racecourses – the only tapeta racing surfaces in Europe.
In 2013 ARC pioneered the All-Weather Championships which see horses compete throughout the winter for the chance of qualifying for a £1 million Finals Day on Good Friday at Lingfield Park. This initiative is helping raise the profile and prestige of all-weather racing in Great Britain.
ARC hosts racing at all levels of the sport from Class 7 through to Group 1s. Doncaster Racecourse is home to the world’s oldest Classic, the William Hill St Leger, run each year in September as part of the four-day William Hill St Leger Festival as well as the final Group 1 of the year in Britain, the Vertem Futurity Trophy. Feature jumps races include the Grade 1 Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle Racecourse, the Coral Welsh Grand National at Chepstow Racecourse and Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter Racecourse.
As well as racing, ARC also operates a hotel at Wolverhampton Racecourse, a hotel, spa resort and golf course at Lingfield Park and The Border Minstrel public house at Newcastle Racecourse in the grounds of Gosforth Park. The Hilton Garden Inn Doncaster Racecourse opened in September 2018.
ARC is a significant shareholder in the horseracing TV channel Sky Sports Racing which is broadcast on the Sky platform to c.14 million homes.
ARC plays a pivotal role in British Racing. It is a shareholder in British Champions Series and Racecourse Data Company; a signatory to a British Horseracing Authority’s and Horsemen’s Group Prize Money Agreement; and on the boards of the Racecourse Association (“RCA”), Great British Racing (“GBR”) and British Champion Series (“BCS”).
In 2015 ARC set up The Racing Partnership. This limited company represents the media rights of the 16 ARC owned-racecourses and the five independent racecourses Fakenham, Hexham, Newton Abbot, Plumpton and Ripon.
In addition to racecourses ARC owns Newcastle, Sunderland, Perry Barr and Belle Vue Greyhound Stadia and looks after the media interests of the Greyhound Media Group (“GMG”).
ARC employs 750 permanent staff and engages with 5,500 casual staff for racing and events across its racecourses.
