Ladbrokes Claimed ₤ 102m Furlough Despite Online Boost

Ladbrokes claimed ₤ 102m furlough regardless of online increase

7 January 2022

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ByBen King
Business press reporter, BBC News

Bookmaker Ladbrokes declared ₤ 102m from the furlough plan, in spite of fast development in online betting offseting all losses from the closure of stores.

Accounts published on Thursday show that Ladbrokes declared ₤ 57.5 m in 2020, and the BBC understands it declared a further ₤ 44m this promotion code year.

Since the yohaig code pandemic began parent business Entain has actually increased profits, driven by strong online development.

Entain said the cash secured 14,000 tasks, and is "under review."

The greatest claimers from the furlough plan were primarily those for whom Covid lockdowns implied high falls in income - airlines, pub companies, leisure groups, stores, restaurants and catering services.

One company stands out in the list - Ladbrokes, the UK's largest operator of betting shops, with 2,845 facilities branded Ladbrokes or Coral.

For though it needed to close them for large parts of 2020 and 2021, it had a lifeline - online.

Its parent business, FTSE 100-listed video gaming giant Entain, has a big online betting organization, and customers who couldn't wager in shops throughout the dark days of lockdown flocked to websites and apps instead.

Last April's Grand National broke the record for the greatest online sports wagering event in the UK.

this promotion code suggested that regardless of lockdowns, Entain's 2020 earnings were unchanged from the year before at ₤ 3.6 bn, and it even handled to record an earnings of ₤ 114m. In the first nine months of 2021 revenues grew 8%.

Entain is also well put to take advantage of the explosive development of online wagering in the US through its BetMGM joint venture.

₤ 102m furlough claim

Despite a strong financial efficiency, Ladbrokes made a big furlough claim.

Accounts for Ladbrokes Gaming and Betting Ltd, a subsidiary business of Entain, filed with Companies House and published on Thursday reveal that it declared ₤ 57.5 m of furlough in 2020.

The BBC understands the company declared around ₤ 44m in 2021, taking the overall to ₤ 102m.

According to BBC analysis of information published by HMRC, that would be one of the 20 biggest furlough claims for 2021.

A spokesperson for Entain stated: "The furlough plan was a practical and highly bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that assisted us, as one of the nation's biggest merchants, to keep the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail associates on full pay.

"Whilst the virus is still with us and the outlook, although enhancing, is still far from specific, the Board will continue to keep the circumstance under evaluation."

Entain is lawfully entitled to declare the cash, and there is no tip that it did anything wrong in making the claim or keeping the cash.

However rival bookmaker William Hill decided to return ₤ 24.5 m of furlough money in August 2020, pointing out the "strength of the post-lockdown healing."

Iain Duncan Smith MP, the vice chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, said: "The greed of these companies, that derive huge make money from addicted gamblers, continues to surprise.

"Any company with a clear sense of morality would immediately hand this promotion code cash back to the UK taxpayer."

A variety of business in other industries decided to return furlough funds when the effect of the pandemic proved less extreme than initially feared - consisting of housebuilders Redrow, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey, Games Workshop, and circulation huge Bunzl.

Flutter, owner of the Paddy Power wagering shops, did not tap the furlough plan at all.

Betfred declared at least ₤ 46.6 m in furlough

Betfred, which operates 1500 wagering stores, likewise made substantial furlough claims despite rising earnings.

It declared ₤ 28.1 m in furlough the year ending 27 Sep 2020, according to company accounts.

In addition, a Betfred subsidiary company, Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Ltd, declared someplace between ₤ 18.5 m and ₤ 37.5 m from Dec 2020 to May 2021, according to HMRC data (which only offers a variety, not a specific figure).

The total for the group amounts to between ₤ 46.6 m and ₤ 65.6 m, though these figures do not consist of any claims it might have made in October and November 2020.

Betfred Group saw turnover fall from ₤ 621m to ₤ 525m in the year ending 27 September 2020, the latest figures readily available, as lockdowns required its stores to close.

However the group still made considerable profits, up from ₤ 171m to ₤ 205m, lifted by some one-off gains consisting of ₤ 98m arising from an effective court case versus HMRC for VAT paid on fixed-odds betting terminals from 2005 to 2013.

A Betfred representative stated: "Thanks to the Government's Job Retention [furlough] Scheme we have not needed to make a single redundancy due to the pandemic and we will continue to purchase our stores on the high street."