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Ladbrokes claimed ₤ 102m furlough in spite of online increase

7 January 2022

ByBen King
Business press reporter, BBC News

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

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

Since the pandemic began moms and dad company Entain has in fact increased incomes, driven by strong online growth.

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

The most significant claimers from the furlough plan were mainly those for whom Covid lockdowns suggested steep falls in profits - airlines, bar companies, leisure groups, shops, restaurants and catering services.

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

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

Its moms and dad company, FTSE 100-listed video gaming giant Entain, has a big online betting company, and clients who couldn't bet in shops throughout the dark days of lockdown gathered to websites and apps rather.

Last April's Grand National broke the record for the most significant online sports betting event in the UK.

This implied that regardless of lockdowns, Entain's 2020 revenues were the same from the year before at ₤ 3.6 bn, and it even handled to tape-record an earnings of ₤ 114m. In the very first 9 months of 2021 profits grew 8%.

Entain is likewise well positioned to benefit from the explosive development of online betting in the US through its BetMGM joint venture.

₤ 102m furlough claim

Despite a strong financial performance, Ladbrokes made a large furlough claim.

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

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

According to BBC analysis of data released by HMRC, that would be among the 20 biggest furlough claims for 2021.

A spokesperson for Entain stated: "The furlough plan was a reasonable and highly welcome policy intervention that helped us, as one of the nation's biggest retailers, to keep the incomes of more than 14,000 retail associates on complete pay.

"Whilst the infection is still with us and the outlook, although enhancing, is still far from certain, the Board will continue to keep the scenario under evaluation."

Entain is legally entitled to declare the cash, and there is no tip that it did anything incorrect in making the claim or keeping the yohaig code cash.

However rival bookmaker William Hill opted to return ₤ 24.5 m of furlough cash 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 obtain huge earnings from addicted gamblers, continues to astonish.

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

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

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

Betfred claimed at least ₤ 46.6 m in furlough

Betfred, which operates 1500 betting stores, also made significant furlough claims regardless of increasing profits.

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

In addition, a Betfred subsidiary business, Done Brothers (Cash Betting) Ltd, claimed someplace between ₤ 18.5 m and ₤ 37.5 m from Dec 2020 to May 2021, according to HMRC data (which only gives a range, not a particular figure).

The total for the group amounts to between ₤ 46.6 m and ₤ 65.6 m, though these figures don't include any claims it may 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 forced its stores to close.

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

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

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