Ladbrokes Claimed ₤ 102m Furlough Despite Online Boost

Ladbrokes claimed ₤ 102m furlough in spite of online boost

7 January 2022

ByBen King
Business press reporter, BBC News

Bookmaker Ladbrokes declared ₤ 102m from the furlough plan, in spite of rapid development in online wagering offseting all losses from the closure of shops.

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

Since the pandemic began moms and dad company Entain has really increased profits, driven by strong online growth.

Entain stated the cash protected 14,000 jobs, and is "under evaluation."

The most significant claimers from the furlough scheme were primarily those for whom Covid lockdowns implied high falls in revenue - airlines, pub business, leisure groups, shops, restaurants and catering services.

One business stands apart in the list - Ladbrokes, the UK's biggest operator of wagering shops, with 2,845 properties branded Ladbrokes or Coral.

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

Its parent company, FTSE 100-listed video gaming giant Entain, has a big online gambling company, and clients who could not wager in shops during the dark days of lockdown gathered to websites and apps instead.

Last April's Grand National climaxed for the biggest online sports wagering occasion in the UK.

This indicated that despite lockdowns, Entain's 2020 profits were unchanged from the year before at ₤ 3.6 bn, and it even managed to tape a revenue of ₤ 114m. In the first nine months of 2021 incomes grew 8%.

Entain is likewise well positioned to take advantage of the explosive growth of online wagering in the US through its BetMGM joint endeavor.

₤ 102m furlough claim

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

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

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

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

A spokesperson for Entain said: "The furlough plan was a practical and highly bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that assisted us, as one of the country's largest merchants, to preserve the livelihoods of more than 14,000 retail colleagues on complete pay.

"Whilst the yohaig code infection is still with us and the outlook, although improving, is still far from certain, the Board will continue to keep the scenario under review."

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

However competing bookie William Hill decided to return ₤ 24.5 m of furlough money in August 2020, citing the "strength of the post-lockdown recovery."

Iain Duncan Smith MP, the vice chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group, stated: "The greed of these companies, that obtain huge benefit from addicted bettors, never stops to surprise.

"Any business 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 industries opted to return furlough funds when the effect of the pandemic showed less extreme than at first feared - consisting of housebuilders Redrow, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey, Games Workshop, and circulation giant Bunzl.

Flutter, owner of the Paddy Power betting stores, did not tap the furlough scheme at all.

Betfred claimed at least ₤ 46.6 m in furlough

Betfred, which operates 1500 wagering stores, also made substantial furlough claims in spite of rising earnings.

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

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

The overall for the group amounts to between ₤ 46.6 m and ₤ 65.6 m, though these figures do not 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 most current figures available, as lockdowns forced its shops to close.

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

A Betfred spokesperson said: "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 shops on the high street."