Online gambling marketing firm to list in London

Former Ladbrokes chief executive Chris Bell has been a busy man at XL Media, an online marketing company which drives internet users to online gambling sites; the company is expected to announce today that it plans to float on the Alternative Investment Market in London.

Founded in 2007 through a merger between a business run by chief executive Ory Weihs and two other founders, and with clients like Ladbrokes, Bet365 and 888.com, XL generated revenues of GBP 15.7 million in 2012.

Chris Bell is chairman of the company, which has seen revenues soar from GBP 3.8 million in 2009 to almost GBP 16 million in 2012, and earnings rising from GBP 1.3 million to GBP 7.5 million.

XL, which owns and operates some 2,000 websites, hopes to raise between GBP 18 and 24 million from its IPO, which would give it a market capitalisation of around GBP 60 million.

Management says the company is being positioned to benefit from the online gambling legalisation trend currently developing in the United States.