Evening Standard (London): Hill puts its money on Stanley bookies

BOOKMAKING on the High Street became a two-horse race today after William Hill drew clear from arch-rival Ladbrokes with the Pounds 504 million cash acquisition of 600 betting shops from Stanley Leisure.

The deal is likely to see the Office of Fair Trading demand the selling-on of up to 50 Stanley shops because of local monopoly rules, but will still leave Hill with almost 2200 shops, well ahead of Ladbrokes' 1950.

Hill chief executive David Harding said the deal was aimed at competing more aggressively in a market increasingly crowded with internet bookmakers and online betting exchanges.

"Successful bookmaking is about offering the largest number of products to the largest number of people," he said.

That includes the advent of video roulette games. These are driving High Street bookies' profits, and while Hill's shops are already full of the machines, Stanley's shops are a little more behind the times.

The deal also see Hill enter the highly competitive Irish market for the first time, both north and south of the border.

The deal values the Stanley estate at 13.5 times operating profits. Stanley chief executive Bob Wiper said: "There were disadvantages to us being number four in bookmaking and you cannot refuse a very sensible price."

Stanley, the UK's market-leading casino operator, plans to return up to Pounds 300 million to shareholders.