BoyleSports founder set to step down as chief executive

BoyleSports founder John Boyle has revealed he intends to step down as chief executive of the bookmaker later this year.

Reports from Ireland over the weekend said Boyle, who opened his first betting shop in 1982, would remain chairman of the company.

"I've been CEO now since 2012, and that's not my gig," he said. "My gig was retail and going out and finding stores. But I've gone in and I've enjoyed it for five years. I'm ready this year to step back from the frontline of being CEO."

There was speculation Boyle, 61, would choose his successor as chief executive from his own family. Boyle's daughters Orla and Jenna and son-in-law Conor Gray hold senior positions with BoyleSports.

Boyle told the Sunday Independent newspaper that he retained his ambition to enter the British betting shop market, potentially as early as this year.

He said: "How close are we? In the last month we've been doing due diligence with a company, and we're very close.

"I would say in 2017 we'll be operating in the retail market in the UK. Now, it'll be at a smaller level because the bigger level of taking over 300-400 stores at this time isn't available to us.

"I would hope within the next 12 months that we would set our sights at having at least 100 shops in the UK."

BoyleSports last year bid for the 360 betting shops Ladbrokes and Coral were made to sell for their merger to get approval from the competition authorities, but were passed over in favour of Betfred and Stan James – now known as Megabet.