Ladbrokes Ireland enters examinership

The Irish operations of international land and online betting firm Ladbrokes have been placed into examinership by the High Court, giving it protection against creditors.

Deloitte’s Ken Fennell has been appointed as examiner

The publication Newstalk reports that the company has a chain of 196 shops operating in the Republic of Ireland, and employs 840 people. It has sought court protection after a number of years of falling profits that reached Euro 5 million in 2014 when revenues declined 11 percent.

Ladbrokes is also warning that redundancies among its staff are likely, as it restructures the business, but that all shops will continue to trade as normal during the examinership process.

However, the situation will have little if any impact on the company’s digital and telephone wagering business.

The bookmaker announced to the stock market that the “Directors of Irish trading subsidiaries, Ladbroke (Ireland) Limited, Ladbroke Leisure (Ireland) Limited and Dara Properties Limited (“Ladbrokes Ireland”) have successfully applied to the High Court in Dublin to seek the appointment of an interim examiner and to be provided with the protection of the court under the examinership procedure”.

CEO Jim Mullen said the Irish division was unsustainable in its current shape.

“While regrettable, the action taken today by the directors of the Irish companies is absolutely necessary to safeguard the Irish business which in its current state is not sustainable and cannot be supported by the Ladbrokes Board without radical change, having lost its competitive edge,” he said Tuesday.

“This step has been taken in the best long term interests of Ladbrokes Ireland, its employees, customers, partners and shareholders. In entering the process, our aim is to build a sustainable and competitive business based in Ireland, run from Ireland, investing in Ireland and supporting the Irish economy and sporting industry while delivering for shareholders.”

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