Buy-out hopes for the Tote
Management at Wigan-based bookmaker the Tote could mount their own bid to buy the company and secure hundreds of jobs in the town.
Chief executive Trevor Beaumont said all options were open after the government rejected a 320m bid by a racing consortium and decided to sell the state owned bookies on the open market.
The company will now seek clarification on whether a management/employee buyout would be allowed. The fear is that if any other bookmaker bought it they would not need a HQ in Wigan and hundreds of jobs could be lost.
Mr Beaumont said: "At this stage the government is in the process of appointing advisers and when they have appointed them then we will be able to clarify whether we are allowed to or are prevented from taking part in the process.
"All the options are open at the moment until we get some clarification. Obviously, our aim is to keep jobs in Wigan."
Thousands are employed by the Tote at more than 540 shops across the country while 650 are based at their Poolstock HQ.
Wigan MP Neil Turner is seeking high-level meetings to ensure that any future sale to another bookmaker guaranteed jobs in Wigan for at least five years.
Betfred and Gala Coral have both expressed an interest in the Tote, believed to be worth 400m.
Fred Done, boss at Betfred said: "We have got to be interested in it. If it stacks up financially after we have looked at the figures, we will be throwing our hat in the ring for it. I relish looking at it."
Gala Coral chief executive Neil Goulden said his company would renew its interest in bidding, either for the Tote as a whole or for just its shops.
He said: "We're equally interested in engaging with racing, if there is any opportunity to do so. Our preferred route would be to work with racing partners."
Both Ladbrokes and William Hill effectively ruled themselves out of the race at this stage.
The powerhouses of British betting already have a large number of shops and are wary an increase of this scale could have ramifications with the monopoly commission.
Ladbrokes said they could be interested in picking up a few shops if the new owners sold them off because they already had their own shop in the same street.
A spokesman for Hill's said they were unlikely to express an interest because of their size.
The eventual outcome of the Tote is likely to be a long process. Its sale has been a manifesto promise since 2001 and it has already rejected two bids from a racing consortium because the price was not high enough.
Advisers will now assess how best to maximise the sale, which could include selling off individual parts such as shops, pool, and on-line operations separately.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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