Ladbrokes hopeful of quick shop sales to allow merger

The £106m (€125m) sale of up to 400 UK-based betting shops to allow for the merger of bookmaking giants Ladbrokes and Gala Coral is now expected to be completed in October, with Boylesports seen as a leading bidder.

The Irish bookie has long held ambitions for a retail presence in Britain and is known to be in negotiation with Ladbrokes/Coral on the matter.

Between 350 and 400 shops need to be offloaded to competitors to allow for the merger, but it remains to be seen if one player will be permitted to buy the lot, on competition grounds.