Ladbrokes up 20% on Gala Coral talks

Shares in British bookmaker Ladbrokes jumped 20%, at one point yesterday, on news of its merger talks with Gala Coral, designed to create a $5 billion (€4.5bn) giant with the capacity to advance in the online gambling market.

The talks are the first major move by Ladbrokes chief executive Jim Mullen, who was appointed in March with a remit to grow digital services at Britain’s second- biggest bookmaker and close the gap on market leader William Hill.

The two businesses would have around 4,000 betting shops, almost half the UK market, meaning Britain’s competition authority would be likely to insist some shops are sold off in areas where they overlap.