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Ladbrokes is refusing to return nearly £102million from the Government’s Covid furlough scheme, despite an online gambling boom during the pandemic.
Newly published accounts show the bookmaker, which had to close its stores during England’s three national lockdowns, made claims worth £57.5million in 2020.
The firm, which along with sister firm Coral operates around 2,700 betting shops in the UK, then claimed a further £44million in 2021.
Despite the closures of its betting shops and the cancellation of a number of high profile sporting events during the pandemic, the company still managed revenues of more than £681million in 2020.
But after costs and taxes this turned into a £48million loss, according to accounts published on Companies House.
Rival firms such as William Hill, which last year said it expected a £30million retail loss due to shop closures, have since repaid millions of pounds worth of furlough payments.
But Ladbrokes, which is owned by global betting giant Entain, has so far declined to repay the furlough money.
Bosses said the firm had opted to claim from the scheme – which it had been entitled to as a closed non-essential business – to keep employing its 14,000 betting shop staff on full pay.
A spokesman for Entain said: ‘The furlough scheme was a sensible and highly welcome policy intervention that helped us, as one of the country’s largest retailers, to maintain the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail colleagues on full pay.
Ladbrokes (pictured: Library image of a Ladbrokes store) is refusing to return nearly £102million from the Government’s Covid furlough scheme, despite an online gambling boom during the pandemic
The firm, which along with sister firm Coral operates around 2,700 betting shops in the UK, then claimed a further £44million in 2021.
The scheme was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak (pictured) ahead of the first Covid lockdown
‘Whilst the virus is still with us and the outlook, although improving, is still far from certain, the board will continue to keep the situation under review.’
Entain enjoyed huge boosts in profits during the Covid-19 crisis as bored households turning to online gambling and casino games during lockdowns.
Late last year it was approached for a possible takeover, valuing the business at around £16 billion, although US rival Draftkings ultimately walked away.
However the company’s betting shops, which also include Coral, were closed for long stretches during 2020.
Bosses said the firm had opted to take the furlough money (pictured: A stock image of the Treasury in London) – which it was entitled to as a closed non-essential business – to keep employing its 14,000 betting shop staff on full pay
They also missed out on revenues due to sporting events being cancelled, including a short month-long postponement of Premier League football.
As a result, revenues for 2020 fell heavily from £983million to £681 million.
However, a £462 million pre-tax profit turned into a £48 million loss.
All companies impacted by the pandemic were allowed to claim from the Government’s Covid furlough scheme.
However, some that claimed have subsequently returned the cash after results during the period were better than expected – particularly for businesses with strong online operations alongside shuttered high street operations.
Revenues for Entain in 2020 hit £3.6 billion – unchanged on the previous year with pre-tax profits of £114 million.
More recently, the company revealed further strong growth in its global online betting and gaming business – recording 23 consecutive months of rising revenues in the division.
Rival William Hill repaid £24.5 million in furlough money claimed, whilst Paddy Power owner Flutter did not make any claims for furlough cash – although both have a smaller number of sites compared to Ladbrokes and Coral.
William Hill – which was last year bought by US casino giant Caesars Group in a £2.9billion deal – said its profits crashed 91 per cent to £9.1million as its 1,414 betting shops were hit by repeated lockdowns and disruption to sports events.
William Hill – which was last year bought by US casino giant Caesars Group in a £2.9billion deal – said its profits crashed 91 per cent to £9.1million as its 1,414 betting shops were hit by repeated lockdowns and disruption to sports events
The group revealed last year that overall revenues for 2020 would be £1.3billion – 16 per cent below 2019.
It said it expected a £30million year-on-year loss at its retail division due to the challenges of trading at its betting shops during the pandemic.
Last year Ladbrokes and Coral announced plans to close hundreds of bookies as gamblers flocked online during the pandemic.
Entain announced last March that it could close up to 300 of its 3,000 shops in 2021 after a boom in online betting.
Speaking in March last year, Entain finance chief Rob Wood told analysts: ‘We have around 100 closures per year in the UK from a starting point of 3,000.
It wouldn’t surprise me if we saw two or three years of closure come into one this year.
‘There is a reason for retail to exist. Customers like the social side and watching sport on a big screen, so we’re hopeful we’ll see most of our customers come back. If you liked this short article and you would like to receive additional information concerning พนันกีฬา kindly check out the web page. ‘
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news" data-version="2" id="mol-be5c4f00-6fbf-11ec-93c6-edb9d91fffb9" website refuses to return nearly £102million of furlough payments