Ladbrokes Irish revenues fall by 1%

Ladbrokes, the UK betting chain which sought protection of the courts for its Irish chain on Tuesday, reported that amounts staked in Ireland rose by 1.2 per cent in the first quarter of its financial year. Revenue fell by 1 per cent in Ireland.

At group level, revenues rose by 3.3 per cent in the three months to March 31st 2015, with sales up by 4.3 per cent in the UK.

Jim Mullen, chief executive, said that the group's decision to seek examinership in Ireland "demonstrates the seriousness of our intent and the speed with which we will execute."

“I will complete my review of the wider business quickly and I will present some of the principal changes that I intend to make, in June, earlier than planned, he said.

“Shareholders should expect me to focus on how we will build an effective competitive position, develop scale and resilience over the medium-term. I believe strongly in Ladbrokes. We have laid solid operational foundations but there is still a lot to be done.”

Mr Mullen said that he would provide an update on the outcome of the examinership in Ireland “ as appropriate”.

On Tuesday, Ken Fennell of Deloitte was appointed as interim examiner to three group companies, Ladbrokes Ireland, Ladbrokes Leisure Ireland and Dara Properties, and granted them High Court protection from their creditors to allow them begin restructuring.

Sources estimate the chain may have to cut about 250 jobs from its 840-strong workforce and close 50-60 of its 196 betting shops in the Republic to rescue the business, which lost € 5 million in 2014.