Ladbrokes declared ₤ 102m furlough despite online increase

7 January 2022

ByBen King
Business press reporter, BBC News

Bookmaker Ladbrokes declared ₤ 102m from the furlough plan, in spite of quick development in online betting making up for all losses from the closure of shops.

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

Since the pandemic started moms and dad business Entain has really increased earnings, driven by strong online growth.

Entain stated the yohaig code cash secured 14,000 jobs, and is "under review."

The biggest claimers from the furlough plan were mostly those for whom Covid lockdowns meant high falls in profits - airlines, club business, leisure groups, stores, dining establishments and caterers.

One business sticks out in the list - Ladbrokes, the UK's largest operator of betting shops, with 2,845 premises branded Ladbrokes or Coral.

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

Its parent company, FTSE 100-listed gaming giant Entain, has a big online gambling business, and clients who could not bet in stores during the dark days of lockdown gathered to sites and apps rather.

Last April's Grand National climaxed for the greatest online sports betting event in the UK.

this promotion code implied that despite lockdowns, Entain's 2020 incomes were unchanged from the year before at ₤ 3.6 bn, and it even managed to tape a profit of ₤ 114m. In the first nine months of 2021 earnings grew 8%.

Entain is also well placed to take advantage of the explosive development of online wagering in the US through its BetMGM joint endeavor.

₤ 102m furlough claim

Despite a strong monetary efficiency, Ladbrokes made a big furlough claim.

Accounts for Ladbrokes Gaming and Betting Ltd, a subsidiary business of Entain, filed with Companies House and published on Thursday reveal 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 one of the 20 biggest furlough claims for 2021.

A representative for Entain stated: "The furlough scheme was a sensible and highly bet9ja's welcome offer policy intervention that helped us, as one of the nation's largest retailers, to preserve 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 specific, the Board will continue to keep the circumstance under evaluation."

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

However rival bookie William Hill opted to return ₤ 24.5 m of furlough money in August 2020, mentioning 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 vast earnings from addicted bettors, never ever stops to astonish.

"Any business with a clear sense of morality would immediately hand this cash back to the UK taxpayer."

A number of business in other markets decided to return furlough funds when the impact of the pandemic showed less severe than initially feared - including housebuilders Redrow, Barratt and Taylor Wimpey, Games Workshop, and distribution giant Bunzl.

Flutter, owner of the Paddy Power wagering stores, did not tap the furlough plan at all.

Betfred declared a minimum of ₤ 46.6 m in furlough

Betfred, which operates 1500 wagering stores, likewise made substantial furlough claims despite rising revenues.

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, declared somewhere between ₤ 18.5 m and ₤ 37.5 m from Dec 2020 to May 2021, according to HMRC information (which just gives a range, not a specific figure).

The overall for the yohaig code group adds up to in 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 current figures offered, as lockdowns forced its shops to close.

However the group still made substantial 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 wagering terminals from 2005 to 2013.

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

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