Rivals offer some hope for Celtic Bookmakers workers

SOME hope has emerged for workers at Celtic Bookmakers — which went into receivership earlier this week, with debts of over €6m — with rival operators running the rule over the shops that are still trading.

It is thought up to 25 of the 47 shops in Celtic’s retail portfolio are definitely viable, with up to 10 underperforming and vulnerable, and a question over the remainder.

Since Tuesday’s announcement, the receiver — Neil Hughes of Hughes Blake Accountants — has sold two shops (in Raheny and Naas) with the loss of six jobs.

Successful lease agreement re-negotiations and the sale of the better performing stores could save around 100 of the 237 jobs at Celtic.

On the back of this week’s announcement, Celtic’s owner, former Government minister Ivan Yates, said he felt that there still existed appetite for betting shop acquisitions in Ireland.

In the run-up to Christmas, Celtic succeeded in selling two of its better performing outlets — one in Mr Yates’s home town of Enniscorthy and the other on Dublin’s Lombard Street — to rival operators Boyle Sports and Paddy Power.

In the last couple of days, Boyle’s and Paddy Power have been linked with more outlets. The latter wasn’t commenting on the matter, yesterday.

Although Powers’ retail expansion plans are more focused on Britain, it has always said it would look at opportunities in Ireland if they were to arise.

A spokesperson for Boyle Sports, meanwhile, said the company would be viewing the matter on a case-by-case basis and would “keep all its options open”. Its recent transaction with Celtic was completed prior to the latter’s monetary problems becoming known.

British bookmaker Ladbrokes, which is understood to be open to the idea of further expansion in the Irish market, also declined to comment.