Bell linked to group eyeing merger shops

Former Ladbrokes chief executive Chris Bell could make a return to the betting shop industry should a group he is involved with be successful in the race to buy the shops being sold as part of the planned merger between his old company and Coral.

It is understood that Bell, who led Ladbrokes from 2006 until 2010, when he was succeeded by Richard Glynn, is part of a group of venture capitalists looking to buy the shops the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered to be sold to meet its competition concerns.

The CMA must approve the sale of the 350 to 400 betting shops concerned to "one or more suitably qualified up-front buyers" and an announcement is expected this month.