Betfred buys British Tote for £265m

BRITAIN’S fourth-biggest bookmaker Betfred has won an auction to buy state-owned betting group, the Tote, for £265 million (€302.5m), disappointing the influential horseracing lobby.

Betfred’s triumph over British Airways chairman Martin Broughton’s Sports Investment Partners (SIP) vehicle, announced yesterday, confirmed what sources close to the sale process had told Reuters the previous day.

“Today’s announcement was not our preferred outcome, but we will now work with Betfred and the government to ensure their commitments are delivered upon, both in relation to the Tote and other areas of industry reform,” Paul Roy, chairman of the British Horseracing Authority said on Friday.