Paddy Power buys nine Hackett’s outlets

Paddy Power has expanded its Irish retail network buying nine betting shops from Hackett’s Bookmakers, for an undisclosed sum.

The move will strengthen its presence across the country, with newly acquired shops in Clonmel, Tullamore, Templemore, two in Limerick, and four in Dublin.

It brings Paddy Power’s number of outlets in the Republic to 232, from 223 previously. The company is in the process of surveying the nine properties and is expected to re-fit them during January.

Earlier this year, Paddy Power upgraded its in-shop design — initially via a new shop in Stillorgan, south Dublin — incorporating a range of enhanced betting technology. The improvements will continue across the full store network, in the new year.

As of last month, the company had opened 46 new outlets this year — 37 in the UK and nine in Ireland. Retail stakes, the amount punters spend over the counter in shops, were up 5% year-on-year, in the company’s UK shops and 5% here in the first 11 months of the year, against the same timeframe in 2012.

Last month, Paddy Power said it expects to see only low-to-mid single digit percentage growth in operating profit for 2013, the first time in four years that double digit percentage growth has not been seen by the business.

The company’s share price was up by nearly 2% yesterday.