Boylesports chases shop acquisitions in Ireland

Boylesports has announced plans to add up to 40 betting shops to its portfolio in its native Ireland over the next 12-18 months.

The company is one of the largest gambling operators in Ireland and, should its planned acquisitions of nine stores from Bambury Leinster secure approval, this would increase its network in the country to 219 sites.

Mark O’Neill, chief financial officer at Boylesports, told the Irish Independent newspaper that the firm is now keen to build on this by adding more shops, citing the Irish operations of newly-formed Ladbrokes-Coral as a possibility.

Boylesports was previously linked with taking on a number of Ladbrokes and Coral sites in the UK, after the companies were forced to sell shops in order for their merger to go through.

“We're a growth organisation; we have to be with some of the big PLCs in our industry, and we're ready and willing to look at any opportunities that we can pick up,” O’Neill said.

“If we could get another 30 or 40 stories in Ireland over the next 12-18 months, that would be the stated aim, and we can then bring them into our network.

“Major opportunities like the one with Ladbrokes and Coral don’t come around too often.

“If we were able to pick up 15 or 20 shops in some regional locations around some of the bigger cities and build our brand profile, that would be the strategy for now.

“We’re looking at opportunities all the time to pick up, let’s say, smaller chains in the UK where we could then put the Boylesports brand on the high street in the UK and use that as a stepping stone then to further grow our online business as well as our retail business.”

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