BoyleSports boost betting shop estate with acquisitions in UK and Ireland

BoyleSports continue to buck the gloomy trends surrounding high street bookmakers after adding to their betting shop estates in the UK and Ireland.

The company has bought four betting shops from Jenningsbet in Britain and have strengthened their position in Ireland with the purchase of rival bookmaking firm Bruce Betting.

BoyleSports moved into the British retail market in August following the purchase of 13 stores from Midlands-based independent Wilf Gilbert.

Now they have added four Jenningsbet shops to their estate in Sheffield, Birmingham, Coventry and Cannock.

It is understood they are in talks with other operators in the Midlands and are on course to achieve their ambition of having a British estate of 100 betting shops in due course.

Bruce Betting, which was established in 1977, has an 18-shop portfolio around Ireland, including shops in Dublin, County Wicklow and County Kildare. They also supplied odds to many other independent firms and had an online presence and app.

Prior to the BoyleSports acquisition, Bruce Betting's managing director Thomas Byrne had expressed concerns over the viability of a number of the firm's shops following the rise in gambling duty which was announced last year and came into effect in January.

Finance minister Paschal Donohoe raised gambling duty from one per cent of turnover to two per cent, a move that was met with dismay by the sector.

Donohoe revealed a two per cent tax cut on the first €50,000 of turnover for all Irish bookmakers in an effort to alleviate pressure on smaller firms, as part of his 2020 budget, but it was met with a lukewarm response by the Irish Bookmakers Association who said it would only benefit the very smallest independent operators.

As well as the Bruce Betting acquisition, BoyleSports recently purchased five Galway-based shops owned by Mulholland Bookmakers.

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