BoyleSports voice concerns over merger decision

BoyleSports have said they will be contacting the competition watchdog to express their concerns after being passed over in the race to buy the 360 betting shops being sold as part of the £2.3 billion merger between Coral and Ladbrokes.

It was announced over the weekend that agreement had been reached for Betfred to buy 322 shops for £50 million and for Stan James to pay £500,000 for 37 shops, leaving one shop in the process of being sold.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had ordered the sale to meet competition concerns. However BoyleSports, who were reportedly prepared to offer £100m for the shops in order to break into the UK market, have questioned the deal.