Ladbrokes To Open More UK Betting Shops ?
Published: Friday, May 06, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
LADBROKES RAISING THE ANTE?
Another 200 shops planned to maintain
market dominance
Two weeks back, InfoPowa reported on moves by William
Hill to buy up Stanley Leisure betting shops in a bid to dominate the gambling
market, and this week an answer to the challenge came from Hilton Group, owner
of the UK's Ladbrokes betting-shop chain. The group revealed that it may open
as many as 200 outlets to maintain its lead over William Hill, chief executive
David Michels said.
Ladbrokes' rival bookmaker William Hill is in talks
to buy 600 betting shops from Stanley Leisure for more than GBP 500 million (S$1.5
billion) to create a chain with about 2,200.
Ladbrokes, which owns 1,900
outlets in the UK, may match that number by the end of next year, poker playing
exec Michels told Bloombergs. "I'm not unhappy about being No. 2 by numbers,
but I would be unhappy about being No. 2 by profits. We believe the maximum number
we could have without attracting attention from regulators is 2,200."
Ladbrokes, which is Hilton's fastest-growing business, has helped cushion
earnings as the company's lodging unit, which runs all the Hilton hotels outside
the US, lost customers after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Operating profit rose
28 percent last year, while London-based William Hill's gained 16 per cent.
Hilton traces its roots back to the village of Ladbroke in central England,
where a local racehorse trainer set up a partnership in 1886 to take bets on races.
The partnership that developed into Ladbrokes bought three hotels in 1973, an
operation it had expanded into a 160-strong lodging chain by 1995. Ladbrokes formed
a marketing alliance with Beverly Hills-based Hilton Hotels Corp in 1997 so it
could operate its own hotels under the Hilton brand.
Michels (58) received
an 81 percent payrise last year after net income more than doubled and the company's
shares rose 27 percent. His total compensation climbed to GBP 1.87 million from
GBP 1.03 million in 2003, according to Bloombergs.
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